As most know, I have grown fond of missionary work. I have two trips I have committed to that I am working on funding right now. After a lot of prayer, brick walls, tears, and more prayer, God blessed me with a huge break this past weekend.
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Thursday I woke up in a better mood than usual. I jumped out of bed, put myself together, and left for work. On the drive I remember having a conversation with God out loud. I remember saying to him "Today is going to be amazing, I feel it !" and it most definitely was. It was a normal morning at first, I was studying the book of Job, drinking my second cup of coffee, and listening to music. My boss then asked me if I could watch the front desk while she had a short meeting with the front staff. This is when things got good! It was quiet and calm at the front, still no patients. I remember looking out the window watching the sun come up behind the buildings. In awe of it's beauty, I was at so much peace at that moment. As if all of the world had silenced at the same time to watch what God was doing. I was interrupted by a sweet friend of mine wanting to say good morning, or so I thought. This lady, her name is Anna, and I like to think of her as my grandmother. She is always looking after me, always making me laugh, she feeds me, and she holds a special place in my heart. I grew up not really knowing what a grandmother was like. The lady who raised my father passed before I was born. My mother's mother passed when I was young and she lived in Mexico so I wasn't able to really get to know her. I may not know what it's like to have a grandmother, but when I think of what one would be like, I think of Anna. She slipped a white envelope with a blue OSA label onto the desk in-front of me. She then said "I didn't have much to give because I gave it all elsewhere, so here is a little bit of money for your trips." I didn't realize I had been holding my breath, but I exhaled at that moment in relief. I would give anything to see what my face looked like. I hugged her while thanking her, and she walked away. Without even opening the envelope yet, I held it in my hands for a moment just staring at it. I closed my eyes and spoke to God; "I knew it, I knew you had something special for me today". I opened it and found two-hundred dollars, my heart was still...
I took the day off Friday because my beautiful Momma had put together a garage sale to help me raise money for my trips. This woman goes above and beyond for her children, I hope I am at least half the woman she is when I have children ! I'm not sure exactly what I was expecting from this two day garage sale, but what I was faced with was beyond perfect. I saw Jesus in so many different people and events that occurred ! I saw him in my Momma with her gifting heart, I saw him in the people who prayed over me in my driveway, the children running and playing, the friendly waves form cars passing by, He was everywhere. I found him most in the smile of this lady that we met on Friday, I'll never forget it.
I was flagged down by this lady looking through a stack of kids jeans. I walked quickly down the hot cement driveway as I was barefoot and my feet were burning. She asked if she bought multiple pair of jeans, if we would give her a deal, I agreed. This woman had a story to tell, I just knew this by the flawlessly deep wrinkles on her face. My heart instantly linked to this woman, I suddenly had a need to know more. I quickly made my way back up to the stool next to Momma's rocking chair. I sat in silence just trying to figure out what God was trying to tell me. The woman and her daughter brought all that they were buying up to us with joy written all over their faces. Mom and I looked at each other for a few seconds and she proceeded with an amount, "ten dollars" she said. My heart smiled, I knew my mom felt God speaking to her too. "¡Aye Gracias, Gracias señora!" she repeated while folding her hand in front of her face, hiding her vulnerability. Mom and I talked for a bit when she left. I couldn't help but feel like there was more we could have done. My heart was still tied to this woman and I couldn't shake it. I knew God wasn't finished.
The following day, a car parked right in front of our driveway and out came the woman with three of her children. I grabbed my moms arm in excitement, "Mom, mom, they're back !". With the most beautiful smile highlighting the stories on her face, she walked up to us to tell us how appreciative her husband was that their little boy now has school clothes. She said that her husband gave her a little bit more money to come shop some more, so Momma told her to look around and whatever she found, to take it. Momma assured her that she had nothing to worry about when it came to money. This time, she had about 5 bags of clothes. You could tell she was nervous about how much it was going to cost her, but I was excited. Excited because I knew mom had something up her sleeve ! Momma didn't even look to see what all she had in the bags, she just looked at the lady and said "five dollars, please." Once again, my heart smiled. This time the woman couldn't help but let her vulnerability be visible, and it was the most beautiful thing I've seen in so long. As they were loading some of the bags, mom and I had time to share what we were feeling in our hearts. God had put together a beautiful plan that caught us off guard. We thought this garage sale was going to be about the plans He had for me to serve, never did we expect Him to put it on our hearts to bless someone in the middle of our driveway. I heard him as clear as ever though, he said "you will bless this lady with what I have blessed you with" so we obeyed. We took their number down, and told them we would call them after we shut down the sale so that we could gift them with more. The looks on their faces were priceless !
After they left, I had a sudden urge to write about where my heart was with all of this. How amazing it is that God speaks to us and how He blesses us all. I wrote for about an hour in that hot, hot garage. In the middle of typing everything it all just disappeared ! It was the weirdest thing ever. Usually every five to ten minutes my writing automatically saves and for some reason, it didn't this time. I was devastated ! I had put so much fresh emotion, detail and time into that entry and it was gone so quick (my fellow writer buddies would understand). That evening we got no answer when we tried calling them. It was kind of an empty feeling only because of how excited we were to see God in that smile of hers again. Sunday came along and we decided to give it another shot. Three hours later, a response came in via text. They wanted to come over ! I ran downstairs to let my mom know and we went to the garage to sort things out for them. The lady brought her oldest daughter this time, also twenty-four years of age. You guys... God showed up.
This day was different from the past two. This time the lady felt comfortable enough to open her heart to us. She dug into the deepest of her wounds and shared her testimony with us. She spoke to us about the awful loss of her son who was brutally murdered to the loss of her home in LA and everything that was in it. They moved to Texas with nothing but each other. A family of eight who have suffered so much, yet carry so much hope in their hearts. I was at a loss for words hearing her speak about all the tragedy she's faced. It was not by accident that I met her in my driveway. A couple of hours passed and they were packing up to leave. They were digging in their pockets trying to find money to give us for what they were taking, but my Momma asked them to stop, we weren't looking for payment. In that moment it was as if I could physically see the bricks falling off her shoulders as she exhaled. The lady gently placed her tiny soft hands in mine and made us promise to visit her home so that she could prepare a meal for us, we accepted.
After they left, so many things started to make sense. I don't believe it was by mistake that I was studying the book of Job just that Thursday. The entry that was mysteriously erased, was erased because He wasn't finished with the story. I serve such a faithful God ! He might take away, but what he gifts us with in return is nothing short of perfection. Trust in his plan over yours. Trust that through your struggles, He has a mighty way.
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God reminded me this past weekend that though He has plans for me to serve outside of the country, He still has work for me here at home. Home is a mission field just as much as it is in a third-world country. I encourage you all to open your hearts to serve. God is going to bless you, and bless through you in ways you could never imagine. This past weekend, He blessed me with new friends and $600 to go serve.
If you can't go, give. If you can't give, pray.
