After hearing the wonderful news about my mom, and my students doing a fabulous job on their program, I was on a high. I gave a praise the next morning in our meeting about God’s goodness, and our principal responded with, “Just wait...”. Those may not have been his exact words, but he was alluding to the fact that in the Christian life there are ups and downs. We’ve all heard the saying, “You’re either in a trial, just come out of one, or just about to go into one.” I don’t particularly like this saying, but I’ve found it to be true. It seems as if when all is going well, something happens to test your faith. Nothing that is out of God’s control, but I often respond like it’s the end of the world. On Thursday, here comes my trial. I know a trial strengthens your faith, produces patience, shows you your points of weakness and your need of dependence on God, and makes you realize that God is in control of all things, BUT…I just wish at the time, I didn’t have to go through them. Now at the end of the trial, I can always look back and thank the Lord for the lessons I’ve learned about myself and what He has revealed to me about Himself.
On Thursday, during my lunch break, I ran home for a couple of minutes. It was a trying day at school and I just wanted to get away and relax. As I walked out the door and approached my car, I noticed something shiny by my tire. I must have ran over a bolt, because there it was glistening in the sun. After school, I go to Discount Tires, thinking this is an easy fix. So… the tire guy inspects my car and tells me some devastating news. All of my tires need to be replaced because they’re cracking, and it’s going to cost $305.00 to fix. So...how do I respond? Do I thank Mr. Tire Guy for his wonderful news? Do I thank the Lord for showing me that I needed new tires before I travelled home for Thanksgiving? NO…I get into my car and I start to cry like a big baby. What a pity party! I started thinking how in the world was I going to come up with the money to pay for new tires. I asked the Lord why this was happening. I call my mom and I start crying to her. I then call my stepdad to ask if there is anyway he can help me, and he says he’ll see. I do pray throughout my crying session, but I know it wasn’t a prayer of complete faith. I always have faith for others, but it seems that I have the most doubts when it comes to my own situations, even though God has proven His provision time and time again. I drive my car to the church where it can be towed easily, should the air leak out of the tire with the bolt, and my roommate drives me home.
I get home and I pray for God’s miraculous provision. I call my best friend, Rebecca, who is one of the best listeners I know, and she encourages me with God’s Word. What a day! My faith is renewed and I know God will work it out somehow. The next day gets better, as my mom calls me and tells me that my brother is going to help me and my stepdad will call me on Saturday morning. This morning comes, and he calls, my brother gave him $100 and together they are going to pay for my tires. What a blessing, huh? Well… I was beyond elated that they were going to buy my tires and I was thankful to the Lord that He provided through them, but…my stepdad is unsaved and with me working in ministry, I didn’t want him to have a bad perception of church and ministry. I’m sure he wasn’t thinking that, but I was. So my roommate follows me to Discount Tires where I drop my car off and my stepdad pays for my tires by phone. The tire place even gave me a discounted rate, now my tires were going to cost $279 and some change. Another blessing!!! My roommate and I then leave my car there and we run some errands. While in a store, my phone rings, it’s the church secretary. She tells me that someone donated $280 towards fixing my tires. I never told the church that I needed new tires. I kept saying, “Are you serious?” I felt like jumping up and down in the store because God knows my heart. Now, I can give my stepdad and my brother back their money, and it’s a testimony on how God provides for His children when they serve him. I called my unsaved stepdad and he said that someone must have heard his prayers. Well we all know who that Someone was. The Lord is so good…all the time, and He always provides even when our faith is weak.
