She said, "I have these magazines, and they are so nice, I just hate to throw them away."
Now, I have to tell you, at the time, I thought, "What in the world will they do with these magazines? Why would they want them?"
But I decided that our go-between (Ramona) could make that call, so in they went with the toilet paper and hygiene products.
I dutifully delivered everything to Ramona, told her the story about the magazines, and in her already full trunk it all went, for her to deal with now and get to its eventual destination.
Several weeks passed and very early one morning, I received a text from Ramona that said, "I have something crazy and wonderful to tell you. Call me when you can."
Crazy and wonderful? I had to know right then, so I called her and heard the most crazy yet wonderful God story I'd heard in a while. It seems that Ramona had had a lot going on and hadn't been able to deliver those supplies until recently. Michelle, the founder of Leah's House, agreed to meet Ramona to get everything from her. When Ramona opened her trunk full of detergent, aluminum foil, toilet paper, garbage bags, and so many necessary things needed to run a household, it wasn't those things Michelle saw. It was the scattered Birds & Blooms magazines. She immediately started praising God and picking up the magazines, holding them closely as something precious.
You see, Michelle had been in a doctor's office weeks before and had seen one of these beautiful, glossy-photoed magazines. She had read about how to attract birds and build birdhouses. And in one of her often held God conversations said, "You know, God, we could really use a magazine like this. There are instructions in here that we need, along with all these beautiful pictures. But we can't afford this magazine. It sure would be nice if You would provide it for us."
And that's exactly what God did! He provided when a magazine subscriber had the thought of not throwing them away but donating them, when a dubious go-between wondered why in the world give these, and when the deliverer had so much going on she didn't have time to think about discarding them before they got to their intended destination.
When I think about how God answered this prayer, I am humbled and ashamed, but amazed at how God answered this woman's simple request for a magazine.
He used a nagging thought in one woman's head that these magazines were too nice to throw away. Ever have those simple thoughts? This woman didn't dismiss them. She just followed through, no matter how silly it seemed.
And what did I do? I used my own logic to decide this was a non-useful donation. I'm ashamed to realize that I hadn't learned through the Bible Study I had just left on Gideon that God uses weakness. That God doesn't expect us to think through how He's going to work. He just expects us to offer ourselves as vessels to be used by Him and to expect Him to do the impossible. I thank God that somehow I transported those magazines rather than leaving them in the back of my car.
And then they had to go through a third transport until they reached their final, intended destination. One where the receiver knew God had answered her prayer. And He had done it without it costing a dime...and without her telling a soul other than God what she wanted.
I am so encouraged by this story. I'm encouraged to listen more closely for God to speak in the everyday mundane things of life. I am encouraged to go to God with everything, my needs and my wants, and to expect Him to provide in His way, His time, and His method. And I am encouraged that God still chooses to use me in His work, even when I try to think for Him.
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If you would like to show even more support for Leah's House, you can purchase a tee shirt from the site below. Click on the link to place your order.
https://www.booster.com/leahshouse?share=1871383143848135
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