Not just my needs, but also my wants

I have so many stories of God's faithfulness in my life that I'm not sure where to start. His love for me is wonderfully overwhelming. Today I will share just a couple of small ways that He has shown me recently how much He cares. Both stories that I'm telling you about today have happened in the past month and struck me as incredible because they are so significant as examples of how God loves to take care of His children, no matter how simple the wish. God provided for me even though I didn't need them, my life wouldn't have been unbearable without them. However, He doesn't just care about our NEEDS, He also cares about our desires. He wants us to rely on Him for everything no matter how "significant" it may seem to us.

When I was in high school my sister took a couple of years off of college to move home to work for a while to pay off some debt. On her last day all of the employees and managers got together to take her out for lunch and bought her a going back to college gift basket.  At the time I thought that was about the nicest way any employer could show their appreciation for an employee who had worked hard during their tenure with the company and I had always hoped that some day I would have a going away party like that too.  While in high school I worked a part time job selling ice-cream at a local cafe and then all through college I held various part time jobs. I did my best at each position and yet when I left each one I didn't have a 'you're so awesome' party. Over time I came to understand that I could either have my recognition from 'man' or from God and I decided that I really wanted my recognition from God so I stopped (consciously) wondering if I would ever have a 'going away' party.  A part of me still wanted that party, but it stopped holding the significance in my life that made me wonder if I had really done as good of a job as I thought I had.  Then last summer I was asked to accept a temporary 'back fill' position with my company to fill in for someone who was retiring.  The people in my new division are kind, good hearted people, but they are not Christians, they don't know God's love on a personal level.  When the time came for me to return to my previous position, my fellow employees and the managers in my new division scheduled a lunch to give me a "going away party".  It was exactly what I had always wanted deep down in the parts that I tried to lock away. God knew that I wanted that party because we can't hide anything from Him. And really we shouldn't even try. He wants to give us our every desire. He wants us to tell Him about our every fear, every hope, every everything. I formed a special bond with a couple of the people in that division and I know that God waited to give me the party that I had always wanted until now because it wouldn't have meant as much in the past. If one of the part time high school or college jobs had given me a 'going away party' it would have been just a day to eat cake, but this was different. I truly felt appreciated. I felt loved. I know that I made a difference. God knows that too and He knows that that was what I really desired- to make a difference and have it matter. God loves me so much that He worked in the lives of people that don't 'believe' in Him to fulfill MY simple longing for "man's" recognition.

This second story is even more simple than the first in terms of how God loves to give us what we want. I am feeling called to go back to school for my masters in family and marriage counseling. For years I have considered going back to school, but the various programs that I thought about just didn't feel right. Probably because I was only half listening to God when He was trying to tell me that He wanted me to go somewhere specific. Anyway.. I finally took the first step toward higher education- I went to an informational meeting at the Christian college that I want to go to. The meeting was at 6:30 pm, which gave me enough time to grab a bite to eat after work before it started. I had never been to the campus before though so I drove to the site and got my bearings then went in search of fast food. I knew that there was a McDonald's close by, but I wasn't positive of where, so I headed west (into the setting sun- so I could hardly see anything more than 20 feet in front of me) down the road that I thought it was on. I passed by multiple other drive through restaurants in search of a McD's but couldn't seem to find one. I was feeling pressed for time and considering turning around, when I felt like God was telling me to go just a little further. Another mile down the road and I still didn't see those famous golden arches so I prepared to turn around. I decided that even though what I really wanted was the comfort food of McD's  french fries, I would just have to get a burrito or something else and deal with it. But God loves me so what did He provide right on the exact corner where I decided to give up my search? That's right- a McDonald's.  I know that I could have had my need (calories) fulfilled anywhere, but I wanted McD's and God wanted to show me His grace by giving me what I wanted. He wanted me to trust Him, to lean on Him, to follow Him. And when I did, He rewarded me with what I wanted.

Thank you Lord God for your amazing provision, and for caring not just about my needs but also my wants.