God is good. All the time. God is good.

What a morning!  After snoozing the 3 set alarms on my iphone (set to the most horrendous ringer in the world), and snoozing each one of them 3 times, and spending those 15 minutes deciding whether or not to hit the gym, go downstairs and write or go back to sleep, I finally talked myself into getting my lazy hiney to the gym. 

While pounding out 5 miles on that damn treadmill, I was again overcome by the awareness that I can do absolutely ANYTHING I set my mind to and moreover THAT YOU CAN TOO.  Setting the bar a little bit higher, each time I run by myself, often leaves me with a feeling of accomplishment that I wish I could bottle up and share with you.  We’ve all heard that we can do anything through Christ who strengthens us (Phil. 4:13) but have we truly experienced that?  Have we put it all out there on the line saying, “God there is no way, I can physically, emotionally, spiritually (whatever) accomplish this task, but I believe you will fill me with your strength to do it”?  And have we continued on to complete the task, watching his strength and love ooze from our sweaty pores?

After running back home and quickly getting ready for work and a quick trip by the bank to grab my weekly allowance, I was thrilled with myself at what all I had accomplished in the few short hours since those damn alarms started going off.  As a reward for all of my hard work and dedication, I decided to run into 7-eleven to grab one of my favorite breakfast treats.

Sadly, they were out of cheese Danishes (holla if you love them like I do), so I begrudgingly made my way over to the consolation prize: Muscle Milk.  I was totally bitching about the fact that I was about to spend $4 on a “healthy” drink when the “unhealthy” cheese Danish would have only cost me $1.49, when I recognized that the man in front of me to check out, was paying for his gallon of water in pennies and dimes.

WHOA. Here I am, blessed beyond belief, to have $4 to spend on 16 ounces of pure protein and I’m bitching about it? 

I remembered the $50 bill in my wallet (given to me by a gatherer), and as I walked to my car, noticing the same clean cut fellow sitting in the driver seat of a local heating and air company’s van, I also remembered that look of anxiety on his face as he waited, hoping he’d handed the clerk enough, as she counted out his payment for a gallon of spring water.

I can easily tell you that the greatest blessing of my week was knocking on the window of his van and mumbling something about “I know this weird but it’s sort of a random act of kindness thing. . .  but anyway, here’s some money for you”. 

God is good. All the Time. God is Good.  Not only did He strengthen me to meet my own needs this morning, but He also provisioned me to help meet the need of another.

"Do for one person what you wish you could do for everyone." ~ Andy Stanley