unexpected blessings

Last Wednesday, I was driving to BabyGap to buy Tyler new summer clothes. On the way, I passed a church with a humble sign advertising free lunches for kids under 18. Three miles later, I realized exactly what this meant. It was summer vacation. There are kids in my own area who go hungry, when meals are not provided by the school. That broke my heart and convicted me. Here I was ... driving to buy my son more clothes when there are children who don't even have food! I mentioned it to Chad that evening, and he said we should definitely give to the ministry.

On Sunday, we tried a new church. The message was about using spiritual gifts, including the gift of giving. Again, my heart ached for these children who wake each morning with hunger pains and no pantry to open, no refrigerator to rummage through and no lunch box to fill.

Today, I left for the specialist several hours early in an effort to distract Tyler from the meals he had to skip before surgery (which is another blog post). I was driving down Rowlett Road, when I remembered that church. I made a u-turn and pulled into the parking lot. Tyler and I walked in through the tattered door and passed the giggling children running through the halls. We peeked around the corner and met the most gracious lady. I explained the incredible randomness of our visit and handed her a check.  She looked down with astonishment. I quickly apologized because it wasn't a large gift. She looked back at me and said that today they were praying for that exact amount! There were four children who wanted to go to summer camp. Their parents couldn't afford it, but the church promised they would be able to attend. However, they are a small, underprivileged church that was already over-extended in giving. They didn't know where the money would come from, but they trusted God to provide. Hours later ... God led Tyler and me to their door with the exact donation to sponsor summer camp for four children!

While we were there, we met the pastor and several other church leaders. They asked where we were heading, and I explained that Tyler will most likely need surgery today for his leg infection. They asked if they could pray over him. We gathered around, the pastor placed a hand on his leg, and we asked God for healing. With faith, we believed that he would be okay. And this afternoon, God used the doctor to heal Tyler without surgery ... just as we asked!

I'm inspired and filled with thankfulness.