“Casting all your care upon him; for he careth for you.”
– 1 Peter 5:7
All last week I was trying to come up with this weeks post. On Thursday I finally found a good topic, but then Friday came and God smashed the old idea with a brand new one. I was having a difficult time last week. Just trusting God and laying everything at His feet, seemed to be painfully difficult. I was getting impatient again. Before I tell you what happened Friday, I need to give you a little background.
For the last year I have been realizing my need for a new bike. No back brakes, the front gear shifter was broken, the back one worked half way, it was heavy and didn’t move very fast. People have been warning me about having a rigid running schedule, so I decided to add strength training and biking in as the cross-trainings. I began praying for a new bike and as the months ticked by I got more and more specific until the beginning of this summer I knew what I wanted.
I wanted a road bike that fit me. One with curved handles and working brakes. A pink and black one would be ideal. Everything working on it. And on top of that, I didn’t want to spend more than $20. Later I added that it needed to be close enough for me to ride home so I didn’t have to spend gas money to get it. (I’ve learned from past experience that I need to be specific when I pray.) I gave these details to God and kept my eyes open. Having become impatient before and missing out on God’s blessings, I decided this time I would wait until the right one.
As the days went by, I decided to check on Craigslist. There it was! A road bike for $20! It was only pink and white, but it would do. It had the curved handlebars, they said everything worked. But it was over an hour away. I gave it a month and told God that if this was the one, to have it still be available. A few weeks later it was gone. So I began searching again. Green ones. Red ones. But they were all over $40 and at least thirty minutes away. I had found a free one, but it was too big and for a guy. I tried Facebook Marketplace a few times but for some reason, never could get past the main page. I even kept my eyes peeled as we would pass the bike repairers house, trying to look at each one. There were some, but the only women’s one I ever saw was neon green and by then I had given up on looking for one anyway. I had decided to enjoy the bike God had provided for me as a birthday present so many years ago, no matter how embarrassingly noisy it was.
Back to this past Friday. I was feeling overall sluggish and discouraged as I picked tomatoes from the garden. My dad pulls up in his work tractor and calls for me. I slowly walk over to him as he’s telling me, “Hurry up before they sell it!” I have no idea what he’s talking about and so I walk just a little faster. (Thank God for my dad’s patience.) When I get up to him, he shows me a picture of a black and pink road bike and says, “It’s $20 if you want it.” My heart starts pounding as I say, “Really?!” I ran up to my room and grabbed a $20 bill. I slip my work shoes back on and my mom asks if I’m going to be able to ride it in those. I was shocked and asked where it was. It wasn’t even a mile away! At a house I run by weekly! A neighbor! I run back upstairs to grab my gym shoes and a thought came to my mind, what if it’s not the right size?
On the way there I’m praying the whole time that it’s the right size. Please Lord, you had the computer* work, let this be the bike I’ve been praying for. As we drive past the house, it looked perfect. My dad turned around and parked right behind the bike. I couldn’t seem to get my eyes off of it. It looked perfect! The tires looked great, the brakes worked, I don’t know much about sizing, but it seemed to be the right size! I looked at the lady and said, “You said $20?” She said yes and the deal was done. On top of it being perfect, it was even the brand I was looking for! I hopped on and since it was different handlebars than what I was used to, it was a little wobbly, but I love it now! I had even compared the one on my wish list with this one and love this look so much more. The one on my wish list was almost four grand too, so I got a way better deal!
This story reminded me that God cares for even the little things in my life. He loves me for who I am and delights in giving me the desires of my heart. But what I’ve learned is that the waiting process is so necessary and turns out to be such a blessing, yet it is the hardest thing for humans to learn. We want, what we want, now. This answer to prayer not only applied to the area I had been praying about that morning but also gave me more wisdom into God’s ways, more trust in His guidance, and more desire to learn patience. I had learned so much during that time of waiting!
“Delight thyself also in the Lord; and he shall give thee the desires of thine heart. Commit thy way unto the Lord; trust also in him; and he shall bring it to pass.”
-Psalm 37:4-5
*The computer praise report was two posts ago. Feel free to go back and read it if you missed it!
Be Still and Run 