Where’s the Faith Follow Up

I shared with you the storm that made landfall on my life and wreaked havoc this week, now I want to tell you about the rainbow, a small miracle that happened to me Friday afternoon. It was like a pat on my back from God to say, “Hey, buddy, remember, I am with you, so take a breather.”

Here’s what happened. I was leaving the post office Friday afternoon and I ran into a lady I’ve known for 20 years. We’ll call her Joan. Joan has worked for the same attorney for as long as I’ve known her. We’ll call him Henry. She told me that her office is swamped and she’s working as hard as she’s ever worked. For the uninitiated, I am a freelance real estate paralegal and in case you haven’t noticed, the real estate market is dead right now. Well, Henry’s law practice mostly does something other than real estate. I just openly tell her that I need work and would love the opportunity to learn their area of law in order to help them and help myself. If humility was never my strong suit, it’s rapidly becoming so. Joan and I have always had a good rapport so she says she’ll mention it to Henry. I’m excited and call my white, shiny Reebok wearing brother in law, Joel to share the news. I reach the courthouse, still on the phone with Joel talking about Henry and as I climb to the top of the stairs, the door opens and who is it? It’s Henry! Yes, 5 minutes earlier I was talking about him with his secretary and at the very moment I meet him at the top of the stairs, I’m talking about him with Joel. I hang up with Joel and Henry said, “I was just talking about you.” I thought maybe Joan had called him on his cell, but no, he was in the courthouse looking for me to do a rare title exam for him. But I responded with, “And I was just talking about you!” A series of coincidences? Those without faith may think so, but not us, right?

I don’t know if anything will work out with Henry, but I do believe that God orchestrated the events to encourage me and remind me that He’s still got my back, that He still loves me and that He will provide for me. My friend, Arthur, says that if He wanted it to happen, God could make a shark bite me in the grocery store. The impossible is possible with God.  “Everything is possible for him who believes.” (Mark 9:23).

All of this did reinforce something that I’ve heard my whole life; it never hurts to ask. I’m not a great asker, especially when it comes to putting myself out there in unfamiliar landscapes, promoting myself in some way or asking for help, but my life is not my own. Yes, asking can be humbling, but pride goes before the fall and if I fall, I take my family down with me. But I believe what asking does, even if it doesn’t lead directly to the thing you are asking for, it lets loose a series of dynamics that can lead to somewhere different and maybe better. A small pebble tossed onto an undisturbed, smooth pond can send ripples from the dam to the farrest shore. So can one ask.  

Overall, I am encouraged. Things are still tough, but God is letting me know that I’m not alone. He gave me this thought today and I will leave it with you. When you hit rock bottom, you can either bury yourself in the rubble or you can build a new and better foundation. After the Prodigal Son hit bottom with his foolishness he could have laid around in the pig slop and felt sorry for himself, but instead he cleaned himself up, walked home and asked his father for a job. His father, just like your Heavenly Father will, gave his son way more than what he asked…just because he asked. “If you ask Me(Jesus) anything in My name, I will do it.” John 14:14