Since arriving back in Anacortes about a month ago, one of the biggest things on my mind has been money. I know that probably sounds really bad, so let me explain.
At the end of the Race, I had zero money to my name. Any money I had in my bank account was because of the kindness of my parents, grandparents, and other wonderful folks. I was taken care of enough to get me through my final month of travel, but needed to start work as soon as I got home. Not only did I need money to cover my basic expenses like car insurance and student loans, but I also needed to start saving money for my move to Georgia. From the time I got home to when I’m scheduled to leave, I had six months to save a years worth the money. Easier said than done!
Any time I’ve thought about how much money I’m going to need for next year, I’ve felt nothing but peace. I watched God provide $15,500 for me last year. He can and absolutely will provide the money for my move, as long as it is what He is leading me to. Because I’m pretty positive that it is Him leading me to Georgia, I am pretty positive He is going to provide the funds.
I was so blessed to be able to start working at Papa Murphys again just a few days after getting back to the island, getting close to full time hours. However, I knew I’d need a second job in order to save enough, so I’ve been consistently checking Craigslist, asking around and applying for jobs over the last month. I haven’t felt a sense of urgency, just a sense of faithfulness. My prayer was that God would allow my application to be passed over by every potential employer that wasn’t right.
On Thursday morning, I was given the opportunity to have lunch with one of my pastors and his wife, Les and Donna. They wanted to hear more about the Race, so we spent almost four hours chatting. It was a really wonderful morning! At one point during my visit, while talking about my plans to move to Georgia, I made a comment that I was confident that God would provide the funds, just curious in what way. This is where the story gets good.
As I left Les and Donna’s house, I checked my phone and discovered I had two voicemails, within an hour from each other, from businesses wanting to set up interviews with me. I haven’t heard back from a single place I applied for yet, and all of the sudden get two calls in the same hour! Thats definitely God showing me He is going to provide. I honestly would have, at that point, been okay if nothing came of either phone call. It was enough to just see that He was taking care of me. But He had more in store than that.
I called both businesses back, and one of them set up a phone interview. The interview was scheduled for 7:30 am the following morning, so I woke up bright and early for a 20 minute phone call. The call ended with an invitation to come in a couple of hours later for a second interview. Within a few hours, I had a conditional job offer, assuming my drug test came through clean (which, of course, it will). I spent a month of applying and hearing nothing, and then I watched God provide me a second job in less than 24 hours time. Whats even better is that my new job is early in the mornings, which means that it won’t really interfere with my hours at Papa Murphys, meaning I will be able to get 50-70 hours of work in a week. On top of that, yesterday I was (re)promoted to a crew supervisor position at Papa Murphys! He is so good!
This is just one time I have seen God’s provision in my own life. Another story took place over the course of eleven months.
A year ago, while finishing up first month of the World Race, I spilled a coffee on my beloved Macbook Pro. Within moments, my perfect condition laptop was filled with a sugary coffee drink. That evening, we discovered caramelized sugar all over the logic board. There was pretty much no chance that it was ever gonna recover, at least not without investing hundreds of dollars. Oddly, I felt peace through the whole thing. I didn’t even cry!
I spent the whole year borrowing peoples laptops and tablets in order to blog, email family, complete finance spreadsheets, all that good stuff. My friend Ryan lent me his tablet for what was supposed to be the rest of the Race, but in the end I only got to use it for about three months due to issues with the charger. I even got a replacement charger brought out from America, and it got stolen within a week. Its like God didn’t want me to have my own laptop, just others to use when needed.
Well, about a week after getting home, I was up visiting my godmother Connie for a couple of nights. I mentioned something about not having a laptop, that mine had broken nearly a year ago. Later that night, she grabbed a Macbook that she said she no longer used since upgrading earlier this year, and said it was mine. Just like that, after eleven months of not having my own laptop, here was pretty much exactly what I wanted, right in front of me. He is so good!
These, to me, are personal stories of Jesus feeding the five thousand. He took difficult situations, and provided in incredible ways. He used other people to bless me in incredible ways. Thats the God I serve.
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If you live nearby, please set aside the evening of Wednesday, August 14th! I will be giving a message at The Bridge Christian Fellowship for their midweek service. I will have about an hour and a half to share about something involving my trip and what God taught me throughout it. The service starts at 6:30 pm at 444 Ducken Road, Oak Harbor. I would love to see anyone and everyone there! Please contact me if you have any questions!
