"...once our eyes are opened, we can't pretend we don't know what to do. God, who weighs our hearts and keeps our souls, knows that we know, and holds us responsible to act."
Proverbs 24:12

Wednesday, November 12, 2014

He's Bananas About Me

I decided to steal a blog-post from my other blog because it is a reminder of how loved I am.  This is from December 2013.  My back and shoulders were sore and I was feeling uptight about going grocery shopping.  Not sure what was going on but as I told Linc, he began to fix the problem give suggestions as to what could be done to ease my anxieties.  Not sure if it was the thought of spending more money or of pushing the cart through the snow without hurting my back/neck/shoulders more, but we talked and prayed about it.  Linc suggested I either leave my cart outside the store and drive my van up to the no-parking zone and load the groceries in or I ask someone to help me push it to the van.  That evening I decided to pray for sales at the store, especially the bananas (every time I pray about this, God provides bananas at half price).  So the next morning I got ready and decide to beat the winter snowstorm and head off to superstore.  As I pull up, a car drives out of the parking place closest to the door so I take that spot (answer #1, I am parked right at the door!).  I get into the store and find most of my items are one sale or are on sale and I get extra points on my card for them!  However, when I get to the discount produce place, I don't find any bananas.  I go to the banana section and see all the regular priced bananas.  I kind of stood there, asking why they weren't on sale, when I turned and there was a huge stack of bananas- all on 50% off.  I had to smile.  What a sign of being cared for- it may seem insignificant to some, but I got quite excited by this!  So I continued on-the bread my kids like was on sale plus had bonus points (points = more cash to spend on another shopping trip!), the parchment paper was on sale, the flour was on sale and so on...  I filled my cart, fitting everything in like a puzzle and went to pay.  I was able to use points to pay for $230 of the $234 of groceries.  I then asked about the free offer, and learned that if I spent $250 I got a free turkey, so off I went to buy 2 of the items I'd forgotten from my list, used points for $20 and paid $2 something and got a free $28 turkey!  I was feeling pretty blessed and cared for at this point, paying so little for a cart full of food- so full that as I left the store, my taco chips and paper towels started to blow off my cart.  At this point, my friend, Rachel appears, on her way into the store.  She offers to help and pulls my cart to my van- yup- yet another answer to our prayer for help at the store.    Coincidence?  I don't believe so.  Just one of the many ways God shows up in my everyday life and takes care of me.  A whisper of love.
I love seeing God's hand at work, making things happen that if I don't take time to step back and acknowledge, I think just happened.  I need to keep recording these situations to remind myself that I have the help of a mountain moving, miracle working God.   I don't believe in coincidence.  Things happen because of choices we make but also because of requests we make to God and because of the great love God has for us and that He wants to bless us as we enter into relationship with him.

 *****

I continue to pray about sales and good deals before I go shopping.  This week I went shopping during the afternoon at a time when I hadn't planned to go.  So as I was walking though the store, I was talking with God, telling Him that even though I hadn't asked him earlier for some sales, they would still help with cutting the bill for feeding 6 plus people.  As I came to the produce area, I didn't find anything useful on the discount shelves.  However, as I took a few more steps, chatting with Him about how I know that I am still loved even if there wouldn't be any discounted foods, I found a bag of oranges with the discount sticker just sitting there on a pile of squashes!  I added it to my cart.  When I got to the bananas, I was about to buy the regular priced ones when I noticed the produce guy was emptying bananas from boxes onto the shelves.  I noticed a pile of bananas beside him so I asked about the pile of bananas and he told me they would be for 1/2 price and started bagging them for me.  After the first 4 bags, I offered to finish bagging them myself and even gave a bag to a friend who came by!  Once again, I left the store smiling, reminded that I am loved. 

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