Seeing God in the "Ordinary"

What do ice-cream, roast, pumpkin spice latte, and steak all have in common?

“They’re all foods…”  WRONG. Well, right…but not the answer I’m looking for.  I would say they are all reminders of God’s blessings on my life and His provision.  These are all things that I have consumed this past week due to God’s grace.  I know that may sound like a weird statement, but please bear with me. I have a story for each of them that exemplifies how God loves and cares for us in so many different ways if we would only look to see it.  This past week I have been really stretched for cash because it was the end/beginning of the month, moving across the country brought with it extra expenses out of the ordinary, and I wouldn't receive any income at all from my new job until near the end of the first week of October (Thursday to be exact).  ALL of these following things occurred in the past week & ½.
**Also before I proceed - want to say a HUGE THANK YOU to several people. Your generosity with gift cards & donations literally got me through this first month here because God used you to provide the finances I needed during September - a couple of you I just received gift cards from yesterday - & these will most definitely help me out with buying groceries this month. Thank you thank you thank you!!**

1. Ice-Cream?

                If you know me well, you know that chocolate ice-cream is one of my weaknesses. J When you are low on cash, you don’t really go for food item choices that are your favorite but not quite as nutritional – at least I didn’t…I stuck with the basics and bought just enough food to get me through the week.  Insert random story # 1 here:  A few weeks ago (when I did have a little more cash) I had a break during my workday & decided to treat myself with an ice-cream, leading to the event that happened next.  I began talking with the girl behind the counter because she noticed my I <3 NY shirt & she mentioned that she grew up there.  No one was in line behind me so we ended up talking for probably 10 minutes while I just ate my ice-cream standing there. She asked me what I was doing in Phoenix because I mentioned just having moved here. I shared my story with her and she told me of how she came to know Christ just a few years ago and how He has radically changed her life – a total 180 from the path she was going down leading to self-destruction (aren’t we all before we know Christ? But hers would have been obvious to anyone because it was more of a visible thing…) It was a blessing to speak with her and she told me that she wished I could meet her husband because He was really passionate about missions.  Leaving the parking lot I, unfortunately, backed into a car who I didn’t see pull up. The people in the car were so merciful and with there being a visible scratch on both of our cars, but not horrible, I offered to just pay Him for the paint. He looked at it, back at me and said, “Have a nice day.”  After double checking to make sure they were okay with it – I got into my car and began to cry at the mercy that stranger had shown me.  Immediately I was reminded of God’s mercy upon our lives. We have definitely made more than a “scratch” with our sinful nature, yet covered in the blood of Christ we walk away not owing a debt.  THAT is mercy. That the Holy Perfect God of the universe would look upon us as believers and seeing us through what Christ did on the cross, in a sense say, “have a nice day. You don’t have to pay the debt. It has already been paid.”  Okay, so fast-forward 2 weeks. I call the girl because she’d mentioned wanting me to come with her to a Bible study just to get to know more people in the community and dive into the Word with them.  When I spoke with her on the phone she immediately remembered me and we made plans to meet at her ice-cream store for me to follow her to the church when she got off work. She also mentioned that I DID in fact meet her husband – he was the one driving the car that I backed into. Talk about random & how that all turned out. She said that he wanted to apologize for joking that day & saying “ummm….$8000 will cover it.” To which I told her I was glad he joked because it lightened the moment. Seriously though, I backed into his car & HE is apologizing?! God really taught me a lot through their example. To top it off, when I met her before Bible study she gives me an ice-cream (my favorite flavor of course) & tells me it’s “on the house.” Sometimes God provides for us in the most unlikely of circumstances. 

2. Roast?

                This story just touches my heart because God brought a familiar face across my path as I was starting to get tired of being SO far away from everyone I know well.  Interestingly enough, a girl who I have known for several years because her dad goes to my home church in Alabama, actually lives about 20 minutes from me out here in Arizona.  She & her husband invited me over for dinner and they cooked a full meal – complete with vegetables, roast, bread, salad, and even cake J It was exactly what I needed that day and such a blessing to sit and talk with someone who knows people I know.  It refreshed my soul.  Plus, there’s no way I could have afforded a meal like that this past week. God provided above & beyond what I would have asked for!  

3. Pumpkin Spice Latte?

                Now, this drink is AMAZING if you have never had it – I recommend it. J It had been “one of those days” – you know, the kind where you just want to go to bed and start over afresh because the day just wore me out and I still had another 2 hour session with a client before I could just chill out.  I NEEDED a coffee….not wanted but needed. Haha J Some of you know exactly what I mean here.  I went into Starbucks & the most random thing happened. I attribute it to God giving me a free coffee, because the circumstances that occurred were so out of the ordinary.  The guy in front of me in line was taking an extraordinarily long time up there talking to the cashier because of confusion over a giftcard.  The lady behind the counter who was making the drinks told me to just come around him & go ahead & tell her what I wanted.  I did & she went ahead & made my drink - & THEN told the cashier what I’d ordered so she could ring it up.  For some reason my card would not work – odd, because I’d JUST used it at a gas station not 10 minutes before and also knew there was enough money in my account to cover it. Hmmm…so I start digging in purse & wallet frantically searching for another form of payment….nothing. I look at lady & tell her to cancel my order.  Since it was already made she said for me to go ahead & take it and that it was fine.  (I mean, it was just a latte… & I hadn’t drunk from it – she could’ve given it to someone else – but she didn’t.) What are the odds that I would be the one behind the guy in line taking a long time & that the one making the drinks would tell me to go around before me paying, etc.? The way things occurred I just had to thank God for the free coffee He’d just provided me with on a day that I felt I needed it most.  Maybe it was just coincidence, but I’m claiming that it was God’s provision in that moment for something that would lift up my day. 

4. Steak?

                On a day that I just really needed “friend time” I met up with a friend in downtown who invited me to dinner with a few people, one of which was cooking the meal.  I get there, & we have steak and potatoes. I needed protein at this point because I had not had any in at least 3 or 4 days.  Didn’t buy meat at store because I couldn’t really afford it that day and knew I could buy it later when I could make a bigger trip to store later on.  Not only did I get protein, but a STEAK. It was great and I was again reminded of how God cares for me.

So do I believe that God always provides for our “wants”? Absolutely not.  I know He doesn’t always do that – we don’t always know what is best for us and most of the time we want things that aren’t even necessities.  But there are times that God provides blessings and grace to us to provide us with some of those “wants” Yet, in these circumstances I believe God did those things for me not because I “wanted” or “needed” them, but to teach me more of Himself and how I could depend on HIM as provider rather than myself.  I was trying to figure out how I could make it through that week and HE wanted me to learn that it is NOT ME that I should depend on – but HIM ALONE. In EVERY circumstance of my life, not just with basic survival, but with every part of my life – He wants me to rely on Him and put all of my trust and faith in Him when it would be easy to try to take control myself. 

Sorry this blog was so long, but it had been a while since I posted & I really wanted to give an example of how the Lord has been working in everyday circumstances of my life, and how God can speak to us and reveal Himself to us through even the most random or basic of circumstances if we would only pay attention and look for Him.  I hope through it you have somehow seen more of His grace and would encourage you to look for these things in your own life as well. (maybe not in the form of food, but whatever circumstances may come along your path each day).