One day during my senior year of high school, I returned home after breaking up with a guy I had been dating for a while and found my dad had bought me every breakup food known to man. I mean, the works – there was chocolate ice cream, M&Ms, Oreos, brownie mix, and who knows what else. He knew that it was going to be a hard night for me and he went out of his way to show me that he loved me and was there for me.
– I’ll return to that in a minute
This last week of the race was challenging. I’m not even that sure why, I guess the being cold, the new foods, the tiredness, the hard parts of living in community – they were all starting to get to me.
One day we were on our daily hike up the mountain when I saw a puppy. I wanted to hold it, cuddle it, so badly. I knew it would bring me so much comfort and peace and joy. I just love small, cute things! For a good 10 minutes, I tried desperately to creep up to it slowly, trying not to scare it, hoping it would let me hold it, but to no avail. Defeated, we all kept hiking.
THEN – That afternoon, a grandmother showed up with a basket of 3 puppies!! They were so cute and small! We gave them puppy bathes and they’ve been living at our host home ever since!
The next day, my frustration with Vietnamese food was escalating. I was dehydrated and tired and deeply wanted salt. I mentioned this to a teammate and, lo and behold, while we had not had salt the entire time we have been here, they set it out on a table and we’ve had it ever since!
The following morning I prayed for a specific breakfast by name and 5 minutes later I saw that it had been set out for us!
A few days later, my team was walking back from a morning of house building discussing the ways in which God shows his love to us. My teammates were sharing experiences and moments where they knew the Lord was speaking to them, telling them that He loved them. When it was my turn, my response was “Um, I don’t know, I’ll have to think about it.”
With little pause, my team began recounting the 3 moments I have just shared. Cynically, I brushed them off, thinking, “those were all just coincidences.”
Later that afternoon, while on a walk, the Lord brought the memory of my dad buying me breakup food to my mind. It was such a wonderful gesture that drew my dad and I closer and strengthened our relationship.
But what if, instead of being thankful and feeling loved by my dad, I had just thought, “what a coincidence that all these foods are in our house tonight?” I would have had short term comfort, the moment would have passed, and our relationship would not have been strengthened.
What intimacy with the Lord am I missing by not being able to accept His revelations of love to me!?
By choosing to brush off answered prayers and gifts from the Lord as coincidences, I miss the opportunity to grow deeper in my relationship with Him.
Today I choose to be grateful for His gifts and to receive His love.
