More than birds in the air and lilies in the fields

I have been praying about certain things and asking the Lord for direction for my next step. One of the main concern was financial and not knowing if I can afford to keep up my studies despite all the hurdles the Lord has enabled me to go through thus far. Last Thursday, as I was walking around the shops at the University village, I literally told myself (aloud), 'Don't worry, God will take care of you!' Immediately I felt a profound sense of comfort flooding me.

I then head out to meet a visiting professor who asked if I could help her translate some manuscripts she received from Indonesia. I'm not particularly fluent in Bahasa Malaysia, much less Bahasa Indonesia. Anyways, she offered to pay me for this task. Then I went home and saw a letter from the IRA in the mail. My heart dropped a little cause in my experience, it is never good news. So I was most surprised when I found a cheque for a few hundred dollars. It blew my mind considering I don't even earn enough money to pay tax! The next day I picked up a pay-cheque from the office and together with another cheque that I received from a friend the day before, I deposited the money into the bank with a very deep sense of gratitude, being assured that God knows exactly where I am. His sense of timing is perfect. I am awed simply to know that He cares.

As if that's not enough, later that evening, He sent an angel to knock on my door, bearing gifts of bread, jam, fruits, vegetable, cooking condiment, etc. Now talk about sending me a message loud and clear. It's as close as having it written in the sky! This is not the first time I've received such gifts (see earlier blogs), especially since I've come here, but neither are they regular features in my life. They have always served as tangible signs of God's goodness, reminding me that He can provide in ways beyond what I can think or imagine. And although He's shown this to me before, thus I should have learned my lesson by now, He's willing to do it again. I am humbled by His amazing grace and love for me.

I suppose one can rationalise and explain exactly where each of these came from (natural means), but I can't deny the timing at which they came. At the end of the day, while they do not serve as indicators of how I should decide, I'm assured that no matter what my decision is, I hold on to the fact that God cares and He will provide for my needs. It is a lesson of learning to trust the Lord and I'm grateful for His patience with me, a slow learner. I am also thankful that He's fully committed to the task of helping me move from self-reliance to God-reliance, and will spare nothing, but do whatever it takes, to achieve that end.

p/s: Thank you all for leaving your comments. I am glad this has served to encourage you. There is a little post script to the above. In that same week, my housemate started bringing home endless supply of the most wonderful pastries and even sandwiches. He started work at a coffee shop and gets to bring back all these goodies (2-3 shopping bags full!) when he closes the store, which is as often as 2-3 times a week. So not only does He not give us a stone when we ask for bread, He is able to supply croissant, danish pastries, muffins, scones, rye bread sandwiches, lemon loaves, and lots more! The fact is I usually resist buying these, especially in coffee shops, cause they're pretty pricey. Oh, another one... I have a thing about buying hair bands (to tie my hair with). They cost much more than what I would like to pay and since they have a tendency to be loose and get lost, I usually make do with whatever I can find. Last week I received 4 brand new, good quality ones delivered in the mail. Indeed nothing is too small (or too big) for our God.