The room was small and filled with only a couple of filing cabinets and a desk. I signed my name on the check with a mixture of nervousness and excitement. The woman sitting across the desk from me looked to be in her mid fifties. She seemed pleasant enough, but the routine manner in which she inspected my check in no way matched the magnitude of what this day meant to me. An amused grin crossed her lips as she looked me in the face for the first time since entering the room. Leaning back in her chair she crossed her arms and told me I was going to be fine. She said I reminded her of herself a few years ago as she started a new life on her own with her children.
I left with the keys anxious for school to be out so we could all see our apartment, especially now that it had been cleaned and made ready for move in. I pulled into the parking space in front of our new residence. The day couldn’t have been more perfect. A crisp fall air blew through the tall pine trees shading the front walk. The cloudless blue sky stared back at me from my vantage point looking up through limbs lush with bright green pine needles. Opening the door, the smell of fresh paint and new carpet permeated the air. Very few things could have wiped the smile off my face at that moment.
I made my way slowly through each room of the apartment with such a feeling of accomplishment. I had been able to trade in my broken down van for the newest used car I had ever owned. I was somewhat established in my job. My children were beginning to accept the routine at their new school and were making friends. Now we had a place of our own to call home. My parents had been so gracious to us, but we all knew it would be best for us to be on our own as much as possible. It proved to be one of the most strengthening moves I could have made.
In the quiet stillness of the living room I became overwhelmed with a sense of gratitude. I fell to my knees, tears streaming down my face. God’s presence filled that place in a new and wonderful way for me. Even though my relationship with Him was still far from perfect, He was there. He was there in my time of joy as well as my time of sorrow. In those moments my soul beheld a promise of abundance my mind could not comprehend. It was there I found a vision of His continued presence and blessing. This was only the beginning of a new journey of trust.
John 10:10 The thief does not come except to steal, and to kill, and to destroy. I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly.
James 1:17 Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and comes down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow of turning.
Matthew 7:7 Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives; the one who seeks finds; and to the one who knocks, the door will be opened.
Cinderella in Waiting 