Unknown.

A couple of weeks ago, there was a fire at an apartment complex in Norman.   I was working when I heard the news and I felt a pang of sadness for all of the people affected, but I never thought that one of the people affected would be me.  After 6 months of searching for a place to live this fall, I thought I had finally gotten everything settled.


It still leaves me kind of speechless that this time around, my housing woes were due to a fire.


A fire. 


Crazy.  Class was starting in 2 weeks, I was supposed to move back to Norman in a few days and I was informed I did not have a place to live.  I was completely prepared to be a stressed-out wreck.  When I got the news, I had already decided on all the chocolate I was going to buy that night to enjoy while I watched Steel Magnolias.  (I'm a bit of an emotional eater.)


You can imagine my surprise when tears refused to come.  I found myself having a hard time being upset.  I was smiling. A lot. I thought I was in denial for a while, then I realized that at the root of my peace was an overwhelming joy in what the Lord was doing in my life.


Hold on, joy? My apartment just burned down.


God works in mysterious ways, and I am so glad that His ways are not my own.  Here's what He surrounded my heart with in the days following the news:


God is a God of love and blessing.  He has used this experience to completely flood me with blessings and encouragement.  It would be impossible to count all of the beautiful people who have offered me a place to stay in Norman during this time.  Every day I get more texts and phone calls, people offering more open beds and couches.  I have the most amazing friends and the Lord has used them to show me that I am never alone.  He loves me and I have people who love me enough to take care of me in my time of need.


God is a God of preparation.  For a few years, I have felt a calling on my life to be engaged in full-time missions.  I have a heart for a particular part of the world, and my heart breaks for them when I think of all the people who serve a God that does not exist! In order for me to be obedient to this calling, I need to be prepared for a life of moving, flexibility, and trust.  I am so thankful that I have gotten to catch a glimpse of how to handle such situations, how to depend on God to provide for me through others, and how to be flexible to whatever my situation is.  I don't have to have every detail planned out for months on end because unexpected things happen.  I can take heart that even though I never see some things coming, like a fire, God has known about them since the beginning and He has been preparing me for them since time begin. Hallelujah that I don't have to do it on my own!


Right now, I sit on some friends' couch in their apartment.  I've been here for a few days after staying in the Kappa house for a couple of nights.  Tuesday, I am going to move my things into a family friend's guest bedroom for as long as I need.  God has provided.  He is faithful.  I have shelter, I have friends, I have joy.


My prayers go to those who lost possessions in the fire.  I was informed that there were some International students whose passports burned.  If you could join me in prayers for them and the others affected it would be so greatly appreciated.

I will wait... for You.

"Charm is deceptive and beauty is fleeting, but a woman who fears the Lord is to be praised."

Proverbs 31:30

I have always heard people say, when referring to their future spouse, "I will wait for you." 

I completely agree with everything this statement implies, to a point.  Lately, God has really been working in my heart about relationships and what the future holds.  For a romantic like myself, this has been a tough topic.  But God is faithful! And though the things He has shown me steer away from our worldly view of romance, I assure you that He has shown me there is such a thing as a divine romance in which we fall madly, completely, and wholeheartedly in love with the Savior of the world.  

For me, the change in my heart can be reflected with the change in the case of one letter: "I will wait for you" turned into "I will wait for You."

You see, it's so much more than just finding "the one."  Its about finding the Lord, and walking in His ways, letting Him lead you down the path towards a life of marriage, or even a life of singleness.  Its not about finding a relationship with the one I'm meant to marry, its about finding a relationship with the One who knows if, when, and who I will marry.  

I am so excited to see what the Lord has in store for my life.  If that includes a husband, I have so much joy at the thought of getting to fall in love with him and grow in the Lord with him.  If not, I have so much joy at the thought of getting to grow old in the spirit of Paul's words in 1 Corinthians 7.   

This video truly moved me.  You should check it out! 

Provision.

"And we know that in ALL things God works for the good of those who love Him and who are called according to His purpose."

Romans 8:28

Peace, love, comfort, hope, promises, joy, family, time. 

God is a provider.  He provides everything I need, one day at a time.  It doesn't matter if thats peace in a time of crisis, love when you feel unlovely, comfort when you're mourning the loss of a grandmother, hope when the darkness closes in, promises when you don't know what the future holds, joy at every corner, a church family full of prayer, a home full of family, a family of friends, or time to discover more about Him. 

He has provided all of these things for me and more this crazy, wonderful, heart-wrenching summer of mine.  He holds everything you need, all you have to do is accept it.  What a gift! It doesn't cost you a thing, Jesus took care of the check on the cross. 

After a summer full of ups and downs, I have joy- not because everything was perfect, but because He loves me perfectly through it all.