What God did for me today #1

²²Then Jesus said to his disciples: "Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat; or about your body, what you will wear. ²³Life is more than food, and the body more than clothes. ²⁴Consider the ravens: They do not sow or reap, they have no storeroom or barn; yet God feeds them. And how much more valuable you are than birds! ²⁵Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to his life? ~ Luke 12

Today I've felt almost inexplicably happy. I think it has more to do with what God did for me today.

There are 3 things God has specifically asked of me, which I can no longer ignore. These are:

1) To love him like I used to. I used to write letters to God all the time, it's hard to pray so I felt like God couldn't forget my prayers if I wrote them down. As I grew older I lost this habit, and at a Soul Survivor talk a few years ago called 'You don't love me like you used to', He clear as day showed me his pain that I don't write to him anymore. Like he treasured my letters, poured over them, missed them and the intimacy it brought us as I poured out my heart to him.

2) Be creative. I have lost count of the number of times God has told me to use my hands and be creative, both musically and otherwise. A prophesy by Stephan Hugo at the end of my MercyShip adventure said buntly "Your creativity has been slumbering". As I began writing my letters to God again, I asked him: 'What do you want from me?'. He said: 'Creativity'.

3) To open up my life to others. This is why I'm writing this on a blog right now, not because I want attention, but because He wants people to know what he's doing. (What good is a light is if it's hidden?)

It is on count of all three that I'm writing this.

So I got out of bed today and first things first, made myself a cup of tea. Milk was off, tea tasted awful. No milk, no cereal, no money to purchase said food items due to current 'between (real) jobs' life interlude. However, on I go with my daily activities such as application form writing and regular 10 minute facebook notification checks, all fueled by 3 toasted crumpets that had been hiding at the back of the freezer. Head off to job number 1 of 3 at 4pm, trusting that the endless supply of cake and sometimes other food types would see me through the evening. I no longer worry about my lack of food, because the truth is I haven't done a food shop in 2 months and haven't gone a day without eating well. Each day, I experience provision I couldn't have planned - and today would become a perfect example of that. I feel happy at work, I'm surrounded by friends and generally wonderfully banterful people who were all on top form, and naturally, we ate cake. I'd arranged to visit my friend Isabel after work as I hadn't seen her for ages, my crazy big strong black missionary mother Isabel, and though she has so little herself, she's the most generous person I know. She fed me without me asking and we stayed up watching films, talking and laughing until 1am. As I went to leave and before I knew what was happening, she pulled out cheese, potatoes, tins of soup, 2 cartons of milk and a box of cereal.... I hadn't even told her I needed anything.

Previously: The night before, I'd sat down filling in my scrapbook, exercising my creativity. The night before that I'd starting writing a letter to God. I don't believe for a minute that God's provision is dependent upon what we do, as it's not about what we do, it's about who He is. However, when we pray, coincidences happen. When we trust in Him and do as he asks, we harvest peace and joy.

³¹So do not worry, saying, 'What shall we eat?' or 'What shall we drink?' or 'What shall we wear?' ³²For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them. ³³But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. ³⁴Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own. ~ Matthew 6