so i have a sweet short testimony of God's amazing grace and goodness that i just have to share. my brother, Nick, was in a car accident a few weeks ago. a very severe one, they said none of them should have lived. he had a collapsed lung and dislocated hips and a few other injuries. nick has always been so strong and wise and it was hard to know he was hurting. i instantly wanted to be home. but the Lord said i had a job to do at school, because i'm an RA and had a couple tests that week. so i remained in Minnesota while my brother was in Wisconsin. i hated it. probably the hardest couple of weeks i've been through in a while. obviously i was very excited for Easter break, to see Nick. then, this monday, my friend Nina and i were driving and i, irresponsibly and foolishly, was not wearing my seatbelt. a cop pulls us over, comes around on to the passenger side and said "you need to stop fooling around and wear a seatbelt" then he handed me 120 dollar ticket.
that night, i called my mom and knew i had to suck it up and take my consequences. i knew i couldn't go home for Easter and had to stay in the cities to pick up a couple of hours at work. i was able to pick up enough that would get me $112.50. i cried for hours that night, knowing i wouldn't be able to go home and see my brother and in anguish with what the Lord was trying to teach me, knowing He is always a loving and gracious Father but at this point not quite believing it. i believe i even threw a couple swear words into that prayer. i think the Lord thought that was funny..knowing the plan He had...
two days later i got several messages telling me to check my mailbox at college. i was worried it would be some weird note or some other fine i'd have to pay for the school, almost believing that God would keep showering me with disciplines. i opened my mailbox and saw a white envelope. i opened it up and read this short and beautiful note:
"God loves you
and so do we
buckle up
and go home."
in the envelope was approximately $145.00: money for gas and money for the ticket. (the givers of this money continue to remain anonymous but i do have a few hints...)
the next day Anna gave me an extra $22.50 to pay for gas.
the driver, my friend Jess, would not take any money for gas.
i have $47.50 left from these anonymous givers. i can't wait to see who the Lord wants me to give it to....
i'm home now and spent the day with Nick. i had a day full of texas hold 'em poker, the final four tournament, and action films. haha. Nick is healing up and sleeping soundly on the couch.
trust me, God is good.
money or no money, no matter your circumstance He will use whatever He needs to to show you how very gracious and loving He is. but if you really want to see the pinnacle of His love...look at the cross.
while we were driving home, I said to Jess, "it's so hard to accept this free gift of money. i want to find all of these people and pay them back. otherwise i feel so shameful that i'm in debt."
my wise friend Jess responded "isn't that such a reflection of how hard it is to except God's free gift of grace."
yes, it is. thank You Jesus.
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