Speechless

I didn't really know what to title this blog post, so I decided on speechless because that is exactly how it left me.

As most of you know, J and I just bought our first home and officially moved in last weekend.  Before we moved in, we had spent weeks repainting, packing, and tying up other loose ends.  We hadn't been to church in almost a month.  I felt so guilty every weekend as I made the decision not to go so that I could get other things done around my house.  Also, we hadn't been able to tithe either since we hadn't been at church.  And as the moving weekend was drawing in on us, I was already making excuses in my head for why I wouldn't be able to go this past Sunday either.  I was going to be exhausted, I needed to grade papers, I needed to do 100 loads of laundry, I needed to unpack boxes, grocery shop, blah blah you get the point.  I was REALLY struggling with it though because the Lord has been SO faithful to Jared and I.  More than we could have ever imagined.  Since we've been married, His presence has been so strong.  He guides us, He provides for us, and He had led our financial decisions.  He even brought us a renter so we were off the hook for paying the rest of our rent through February.  Praise the Lord!

When Friday of last week rolled around, I was really feeling the urge to not go Sunday.  I had had a very stressful week at school and the moving was about to send my OCD self into a nervous breakdown.  Until something happened. 

A little girl in my class, who happens to have a very evangelical name, came up to me right as the bell rang for dismissal.  She handed me a homemade folder she had made that had drawings of Heaven, God and Jesus all over it with sayings such as "go to church often" and "pray every morning and night" that she had decorated.  She said, "Mrs. G...I made this for me, but I think you need it more.  I know you haven't been going to church lately and I thought you should have this."

saaaaay WHAT!

I...was...speechless.

How did she know that?  I had NEVER told any of my students that.  Never.  In fact, I hadn't even talked about anything related to that.  And none of them could get a glimpse of my facebook page if they tried.

And then I knew that God was working on me through my students.  He knew exactly what to do to pull me back in line.  I went home and told my husband that night that no matter what, I was going to be in church on Sunday.  And boy am I happy that I went.  Yeah, I was tired, but my spirit was so refreshed and revived afterward.  I felt like a new person.  It was exactly what I needed.

I really just wanted to share this story with anyone who might be struggling with anything in their life.  He is there, friends.  He is listening, watching.  And He knows everything about us.  He knew I was already thinking about not going to church and He had an intervention because He knew it was exactly what I needed.

Now there have been other times in my life where this has happened.  Sometimes they weren't so clear at first but after awhile, it was crystal clear as to why He let things happen the way they did.

So, thank you Lord for all you give and for all you take away.