Rejoice with me in the Lord's provision!

Bless the Lord, O my soul,
And all that is within me, bless His holy name.
Bless the Lord, O my soul,
And forget none of His benefits;
Who pardons all your iniquities,
Who heals all your diseases;
Who redeems you life from the pit,
Who crowns you with lovingkindness and compassion;
Who satisfies your years with good things,
So that your youth is renewed like the eagle. Psalm 103:1-5

I have been struggling quite a bit lately with resting in God. There are so many transitions going on in our life right now: Brian's graduation, me quitting work, the baby, our house being up for sale, not being sure if we are moving to England for PhD work or not... Both Brian and I have to continually remind ourselves and each other that God is not unaware of our situation and that nothing surprises Him. As usual, I'm trying to push things to work out and God keeps thwarting my efforts. Over and over again, He keeps telling me: 'I'm God. I'm omnipotent, omninescent, and omnipresent. I've got it under control, so keep your shirt on. I don't need your help to work out my plan from eternity past.' Oh. Ok. :) So, I've had to try to focus on what my responsibilities are for each individual day and to accomplish those instead of fretting and concocting harebrained schemes for the future. This is not easy! And I could really use some prayer on the matter!!

This week someone came up to me at Knox, thanked me for my work at Knox, and told me that he and his wife were praying for the baby and for Brian's future plans. He gave me a hug and a card and then left. I thought that perhaps they gave us a gift certificate for the baby, which would have been very nice and completely unexpected. When I opened the card there was a check for $2,000! Can you believe it? What miraculous, unexpected provision from the Lord! What a blessing. It is incomprehensible. Why would someone just give me $2,000? Because the Lord owns the cattle on a thousand hills, because He has measured the waters in the hollow of His hands, and when He speaks the storm dies. The One who watches the sparrow cares for me immensely-- what have I to fear?

Praise God for His blessings! Brian and I were beginning to wonder whether or not going to England was a pipe dream, something that we conjured up out of fleshly desires. But the Lord has opened so many doors for us, and here is one more sign of encouragement. Even if it isn't in His plan for Brian to go to the University of Sussex, we can be sure that God will be with us wherever we go and that He will take care of us.