God is a good, good father. He loves us, He teaches us, He leads us. And He answers our prayers, sometimes in the most unexpected ways. And that’s exactly what He did for me a few weeks ago while I was cleaning my room and then again when I was hanging out with one of my best friends.
To start I’ll just admit, I’m a pretty messy person. And my room is no exception to this. Usually, it doesn’t bother me because it’s an organized mess. If my mom is reading this right now (hey mom!) she is probably laughing out loud at that statement. But it’s true. My room may look like a complete disaster to most people but I know where everything is…or at least the important things. But the point is, my room’s a mess and I only clean it on rare occasions when I suddenly realize half my floor is completely hidden from view or I’m inviting a new friend over to hang out. Because let’s be honest, I won’t clean my room for my best friends who come over all the time, they already know I’m a mess and they love me anyways…or they at least tolerate me and my messes.
Sometimes I’ll get the urge to clean just because but I never end up following through because I’m rarely home and when I am I have other things I feel like I need to be doing. Like writing posts for this blog, working on planning fundraisers, looking for the supplies I’ll be needing while I’m gone, or ya know, just catching up on sleep. But a few weeks ago I got the urge to clean and I decided to not ignore it. I thought, “Maybe this will temporarily take my mind off the stress of fundraising.” Here’s the thing about fundraising, it’s time consuming and it’s stressful, especially when you start to think about how much you have to raise. I have to raise $18,000 for my trip. And that’s just for food, travel, and lodging. That doesn’t even cover all the gear I’m going to have to buy before then or the vaccinations I’ll need to get. And every time I see that number flash in my mind, I get a little stressed. But like I said in my first post, God is bigger than any fear and He is bigger than any stress. Always.
So there I was, cleaning my room for the first time in forever, and God showed up to ease my stress and to answer my prayers in a very unexpected way. I never thought cleaning my room would help me in my fundraising goals, but that’s exactly what it did. First, I found a $50 giftcard to Amazon I had completely forgot about, buried away in the corner at the bottom of a gift bag. Then while sorting through a pile of mail, I found a letter from an insurance company stating that I had until the end of the month (which at the time was just barely a week away) to send an updated address in to get a check for over $600. I had long since forgotten about this and thought the time period for me to call was up, but there it was. If I had found it 6 months earlier, I would have most likely spent the money on something unnecessary and if I had found it a week later, it would have been too late. It was God’s perfect timing. And then to top it off, I found an old tote bag I thought I had lost and at the bottom was a $100 bill.
How awesome is that?! God’s timing is so perfect. If I had found any of this sooner than I had, I may have wasted it. But God saw the bigger picture. He knew I would need it for something much more important. And not only did it help me towards my fundraising goals, it also gave me the reassurance and reminder that I needed in that moment of God’s will and purpose for my life.
Then just a little over a week ago, God sent me another blessing through one of my best friends. Emily left to go on the world race in August 2016 and got back in June 2017. Not only does she have a well of knowledge and experience to share with me but she also has blessed me by giving me several items I’ll need while I’m gone including a backpack and a sleeping bag.
Our father hears our prayers and answers them in the perfect way and in the perfect time. If you’ve been praying and feel that God has been silent, don’t stop. He hears you, and He will answer you in His perfect timing. Or maybe, take a closer look. Maybe He has already answered your prayer, just in a unexpected way. Remember, He knows and sees more than we ever could. Sometimes the answer to your prayer may be the exact opposite of what you expected it to be. Not because He doesn’t hear you or love you. But because He loves you more than you know and He sees the bigger picture. Trust Him and thank Him always, for the unexpected and the expected answers.
“Yet God has made everything beautiful for its own time. He has planted eternity in the human heart, but even so, people cannot see the whole scope of God’s work from beginning to end.” Ecclesiastes 3:11
“I will praise you, Lord my God, with all my heart; I will glorify your name forever.” Psalm 86:12
