blizzard | I Am Trusting God

I woke up at three am, and while usually I wake up amidst Christian songs filling my head and good thought for my day, for whatever reason (maybe even for the purpose here) I woke up and the doubts started coming.

You know the doubts that come when you attempt to trust God against all odds. The doubts that say, “You know this will not work right?” “That you are going to look foolish in front of everyone you know?” “You know that you are going to do a disservice for Christ by showing those on the fence how you can get your hopes up and God will not be faithful to come through?” “You know that you are blowing it, big time….better to quite, hide, shrink back. Give up blogging and give up hope of ever going anywhere for God or doing anything great for Him…When it comes to having success….let’s face it you are just not the type!”

Wow…so glad I do not wake up with these thought on a daily basis!

So anyway here I was….it was the middle of the night and the odds were stacked against me to have any kind of a great day…..but then my daughter heard me get up and wanted to remind me of something she called me (at 3 am) after talking with her I decided to check and see if there was any texts (at 3 am), there was only one.

Before I tell you what I said you must know a few things

My name is Lisa
My friend works at night, at an apartment cabana, where she is there to give night visitors the packages that came in the day
She sent the text hours before I receive it

It said that a package came in from the United Kingdom for someone named Lisa.

Now while some may think that is not really a sign from God, keep in mind that it was three am, doubts were filling my head and I believe it was just His way of reminding me that He is in this! He is the orchestrator and perfecter of the plans that He has for my life and yours.

Every time along the way when I have needed a boost to my faith, there was a small sign to keep me believing that I was going in the right direction.

So while one little sign may be like a snowflake, you get enough of them and it is a blizzard that cannot be ignored.

God will let you know if the path you are on is the path He set before you…just look for the signs.

All of my adult life I have wanted a pea coat. So I was very excited when I finally was able to buy one. I loved it. It was brown, fit me perfectly, and was snuggly warm.

Not long after I bought it, I wore it to church. They were having a class that my oldest daughter (around 18 at the time) and I were taking. We were dropped off and were going to walk the mile or so home after it was over.

When we came out of the church I immediately noticed two things. 1) There was a full on blizzard happening. It was lightly snowing when we went in and was pouring snow (at an angle due to wind) on the way out.

My daughter and I were up for the challenge. We loved long walks, were bundled up, were looking forward to talking uninterrupted on the way home (something that is hard to come by in a home full of young children).

So we started our walk, but only got as far as the parking lot when we came upon, 2) A girl, who had been kicked out of her home at 18. She was barely making it and that day was just getting out her car, to meet with someone at the church. I immediately noticed how she was shivering from the cold.

“Where is your jacket” I asked (after the usual hellos).

“I don’t have one.” she replied.

“You don’t have one?” Are you sure?” I was just too shocked. How could anyone not have a jacket.

“Ya. I did have one but it got lost in the move.”

“I am so sorry” I said, and was just about to say goodbye and wish her luck, and potentially pray for her to get a jacket. When God stopped me and simply said “Give her your coat.”

I quickly replied in my mind, “But God I don’t think you understand, this is the coat I have always wanted. This is the coat I have dreamed of. This is the coat that I got on sale for 75% off and that I know there is no more of, this is the coat!”

“Give her the coat.”

“But God do you even understand that I still have to walk home a mile in this blizzard. I will surely freeze to death.”

“Lisa look at her, she is freezing. She needs to coat more than you do. Give her the coat. I will make sure you are warm.”

So I gave her my lovely brown Pea Coat (it fit her perfectly by the way), and after giving her a hug, started my walk with Megan home.

About five minutes into it I noticed how warm I was. It was like I had an internal heater and someone had set the dial up to toasty warm. I do not remember much about that walk home except that I kept saying over and over, “How cool is this. I am actually warm.”

It was a miracle! God kept me warm and taught me a lesson at the same time. That if I step out and do what He is calling me to do, He will take care of me.

I never did get another Pea Coat. But that is ok, because my friend bought me a winter jacket that is the warmest jacket I have ever owned. And every time I wear it I am reminded that God is trustworthy.