The Day I Looked for God and Saw Him

Yesterday began with tons of uncertainly. I had to leave town for a visit that potentially could cause all sorts of hurt and hard feelings.  I dreaded making the trip, but had put it off as long as I could. I had to go.  And then I hate to leave town. My husband depends on me for support and he too, has several things going on that have caused him sleepless nights.   I knew he needed me here for encouragement and even though he knew I wouldn’t be gone long, it made for a long day for him. As I drove out of town I began to pray for the Lord to watch over things at home, to give him peace of mind for this day and grant me favor with my most unpleasant task.

I know that God does not have to give me a sign of anything. But still, I said, “God I know you hear me and you know all the ins and outs of what’s happening…will you please let me know without a doubt that this is all in your hands? Do you remember how you led the children of Israel with a cloud by day and a pillar of fire by night? I want to know, like they knew, that you are leading me.  I’m going to look for you today.”  Thus began ~ “The Day I Looked for God and Saw Him.”

First of all, I had to stop at a country store for gas. I have never been treated more kindly by people in my life. It made me long for life in the country again. Life is simpler and people are good and kind and friendly. They all wished me well on my trip, as I left. Who does that anymore?  It was little, but it made an impact and started my day off nicely! I had asked God for favor. I felt the Blessing of God as I walked to my car!

I arrived at my destination. I was surprised at how pleasant everything was.  What I had been dreading was filled with grace and humor and appreciation. There was no doubt in my mind that God had gone ahead of me a prepared the way and their hearts. He had opened their minds to hear what I had to say.  There were no hurt or hard feelings at all. Without going into details,  it was astonishing.  Not only to me,  but to all who knew what I had been asked to do.

As I drove away,  I was so very thankful to the Lord for all He had done. I stopped to get gas. Suddenly,  my pleasant day turned to shock. I couldn’t find my debit card. I took everything out of my purse, twice. I looked in the backseat. Twice. Oh Lord, my debit card is gone and it’s after 5pm. I can’t call the bank. My card is missing…..oh no!

I drove away from the gas pump….after 10 minutes of searching…I parked to the side and picked up a receipt. It was the last place I used the card and their phone number was on the receipt. Knowing the futility of it, I made the call anyway. The clerk came back to the phone. “What is your name again? What kind of card? …..Oh yes, we have it.  Someone found it in the parking lot and brought it inside to us.”  What relief!

I stopped by Chick-fil-A to get a bite, since I had not eaten all day and you just wouldn’t  believe how nice those people were!..(Of course you would…we’re talking Chick-fil-A.)

I left there and as I turned onto the highway I saw the most beautiful rainbow,  stretching its way across the sky! I said “Ok, God, I know you’re here! This is too much! Thank you so much for what you have done to make this day happen and how well it all turned out.”

All day long I had had just one pleasant happening after another. It was unreal, really.  I had to stop to get a few dollars of gas to get me to my debit card and as I placed the nozzle back into the pump, I turned around and saw the amount of gas I had pumped was 3.777 gallons. 7 is the Biblical number for God and three is a trinity! Wow, just wow.

I left the service station and as I turned onto the highway there was the most beautiful cloud ahead of me. (That’s the picture at the top) It was huge.  That cloud led me all the way home.  I felt like the Israelites being led through the wilderness, by the very presence of God!!! A little while later I crossed into my home county.

The cloud was to my side now and as I turned to look at it, I thanked the Lord for leading me safely home….as I looked at the cloud I couldn’t believe my eyes.  There was a rainbow coming out of the cloud!  I had said ‘I want to KNOW that you are leading me’…….He made sure I did!

A few minutes later,  a bluebird few in front of my car. I haven’t seen a bluebird all year!  A sweet little blessing.  God ordered this day just for me. I was sure of it.

Some people may scoff at me.   I know these things could happen to anyone. I’m sure they can and do. But I think giving this day to God from the beginning of my day and then watching to see what He would do,  made me see things I otherwise wouldn’t have noticed.  I’m sure He’s doing things all the time, I’m just not mindful of them.

Maybe what we need to do is to ask Him to direct our path and then pay attention and be mindful, all day long..….then thank Him for every little detail of our lives.

They say God is in the details. Today, I saw it first hand.

He made sure I saw it. I made sure to look.