It's Just A Water Bottle

How often does God do something for us and we just don't even notice? Do we look for Him in the everyday things? I often tell my kids that God wants us to talk to Him about EVERYTHING. Even those things that seem so small that you figure He wouldn't care anyway because He has pretty important things to worry about. Like the world. So Lately I have been working to put this into practice. Driving around in a parking lot that is full and waiting for a spot. When someone finally leaves instead of thinking how we wish it had been faster, we tell God thanks for providing a spot, it's even more exciting when it's shaded! I want to show the kids how God works in all things. These last couple of weeks I failed in this area. The quarter was ending and we knew there was limited space on base for staff. Since our school has just ended, I was really nervous they would tell us we needed to find a place off base, yet nothing had opened up yet that we could afford. When they told us they had room I was SO relieved. Then they told me which room. And I failed. I was upset. It was exactly where I was hoping they would not put us. The building that I was sure had no breeze, just from looking at it. The room was dirty. (It had been unoccupied for quite some time), and most of all, we would have to do a lot of work to get over there.
So here I was praying God would provide a place for us to stay on base, and then I turned around and threw it back in His face. UGH. I feel terrible just thinking about it. After venting and sharing a bunch of my childish attitude. I started cleaning the room where we would be staying. Through coffee and cleaning God started working on my heart and I began to see all of the good things about the new room. New sink, new shower, the sun doesn't pound into the windows in the afternoon, better mattresses, the parking lot is closer, and BEST of all, we are over an office. That means at night when the kids want to jump around. It's fine!! Truly we upgraded, and now that I can see it, I am so grateful. I just wish I would have looked for the good  in the beginning.

Now this issue, is not nearly as pressing as a place to live. Not at all. But I went to God with it anyway. I like to have a water bottle by my bed. One with a straw! I had one like this but Alinah ended up braking it and I was pretty bummed. Do I buy another? Nah. We have a bunch of cups I should really just use those. But I'm actually lazy enough that I hate to sit up when I am thirsty at night and I inevitably ended up getting kind of wet because I'd try to lazily sip it without doing any work. This is a trivial thing. And I could have just bought a water bottle but I kept thinking it was just too silly that I didn't want to use a cup, so I just waited. Nathaniel had a day off the other day and we went to the small county fair on the other side of the island. Lo and behold, one of the prizes we won at the Geico booth where the kids spun a wheel, was a water bottle! With a straw! I knew God was taking care of the little things. Even though it was silly, it was something I really wanted.
Don't just go to Him with the big things. Go to Him with ALL things. I'm not saying you'll just start getting free stuff. Just know that He cares about all of the details. Maybe He is already working on some things and you just haven't realized it was Him yet. I could have easily passed off the water bottle as a coincidence, but I love thinking of it as a little gift. Don't just say thank you for the big things... Say thank for you for even the smallest.

So Much Grace

On the morning of the 30th, right before we caught our bus to O'Hare, little Alinah coughed so much she puked. In her car seat. This is how our travel day started. Awesome. 

The poor baby had caught the cough that her siblings have and on top of the runny nose she already had, it was making her miserable. For the last couple days I had been praying and praying that the kids would get better for the trip and that it would all go well. I knew the first two flights I would be alone with the girls until we met up with Nathaniel in SFO. (Things got a little mixed up when we changed flights). 

The kids didn't get better. And Alinah seemed to be getting worse. I was starting to be terrified of how the trip would go. I prayed and prayed. I felt God tell me to put it all in His hands and so I did. Over and over because I kept picking up on worrying again. 

'Do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about its self'. 

I still did. But I tried really hard not to! Just being honest. So the morning puke session added to my worry. (She had also done the same thing the night before). Every time Alinah would start to cough I'd grab a blanket hoping that if she threw up I could catch it. She made it through most of the trip until the very last part of our last plane ride. But on that flight they actually had those little blankets for free on the plane, and I was able to catch the majority of it in that and just toss it.  

Back to the beginning...After we got through security and I was internally panicked thinking I should throw the double stroller in the trash while I still had the chance, things started looking up. Our flight was booked, except for the one seat between Kaleigh and I. You want to see a picture of grace? Here it is. 

Oh thank you Jesus for an older daughter who travels like a pro and is super helpful. Also thank you for that extra seat! It helped me to settle down. Ok God, you weren't joking. You've got this. Oh also the people God sent to help me with our stroller! Thank you, thank you! What would I have done? I thought I could handle it and He knew I couldn't so he sent dads and flight attendants and luggage crew workers. SO MUCH GRACE. Meeting back with Nathaniel was such a relief. Their flight went well, and Gideon came hopping out of the gate. One last flight. And you know what? You guessed it. MORE grace. We had two extra seats. I was praying and hoping for a miraculous healing, but instead God gave us the grace to glide through the trip and come out on top. God doesn't always answer the way we are hoping but He won't leave you alone either. 

When we shared with a couple of churches I said that a good prayer support team is essential to any ministry. I could feel those prayers helping us through. Thank you so much for praying. The kids are still coughing but I think we are near the end of this thing. It is such a great feeling when you finally arrive where you feel God has called you.