Unusual Provision

It's amazing to me how quickly I stray from relying on God's strength, and how GOOD He is to remind me. 

As I was preparing to come to Laramie earlier this year, God was abundantly providing for me at every step and in ways I could never have expected or asked for!  As I'm settling in here, however, I'm falling back into relying on my own strength or my own abilities rather than choosing to remind myself that everything I have is from His hand.  God gave me a sharp reminder last Friday morning, and it's been good to get perspective from that:  I was sick all last week with a sore throat, and ended up having to go get antibiotics for it (which--credit where credit is due--my mother called it early on and told me to get to a clinic days before I actually dragged my stubborn self in).  It got to be bad enough where I would wake up several times in the middle of the night needing something to soothe my throat.  Because I wasn't getting much sleep, I overslept my alarm on Friday morning and woke up as I was supposed to be in the office for staff prayer.  I quickly texted my bosses, got dressed, and ran down to my car...and my car wouldn't start.  I had accidentally drained my battery trying to use my auto-start in -20 degree weather.  Tired, sick, frustrated with myself, and very, very late for work, my coping skills deserted me and I called my dad in tears.  Looking back on it, I feel a little foolish for how strongly I reacted to a pretty simple situation.  But it made me realize how drained I was from trying to do everything of my own strength and ability!  As strange as it may seem, it really is a mercy of God to bring me to the end of my own capacity; because it seems that it's only when I stubbornly get to the end of myself that I realize I am not enough, and can meekly turn to Him and ask for His direction and strength.

God has also been showering SROM with crazy blessings!  In preparing for our winter course next week, one of my co-workers (Jay) was calling around trying to find a somewhere that would rent mountaineering boots out and had a size 14.5.  Needless to say, not many places have boots that big in stock to rent!  We prayed as a staff to be able to find a place that would stock the size we needed and that we would be able to find favor with them for inexpensive rentals or purchases.  After a full morning of calling, Jay was finally able to get in contact with an organization who not only had the boot in stock, but was willing to sell us their line of last year's mountaineering boot at an incredible discount!  As Jay was emailing back and forth with the equipment supervisor, he turned in his chair and gave me an incredulous look and said that this guy had asked if an Olivia Zimmermann happened to work in the office.  Apparently, the equipment supervisor had gone to Wheaton and, as it turned out, I had done a wilderness trip with his wife the summer before our freshman year together!  It's great to hear how friends from Wheaton are doing after graduation, and it's always encouraging to find other Christians in the outdoor industry.  We were able to completely outfit the course we needed, as well as buy enough boots to be able to use for future winter courses!  And, just to bless us, he also threw in ice axes and said he would keep us in mind as their organization was looking to update their gear and sell their old inventory.  It's amazing how God works! 

As quick as I am to forget how abundantly God provides, He is there to draw me up short and gently remind me that He is the Source.  He definitely gets creative in how He brings me to the end of myself; He is even more creative in how He brings abundant blessings to us when we seek Him rather than our own solutions to the problems we face.