Day 23: Simple Trust

Hello there! Glad you stopped by! This post is part of a 31-Day writing adventure, of which I’m in the third quarter! I’d love for you to meet up ’round here and read along. You can find the introduction to the series, and a “Table of Contents” as each day goes live, right here. Thanks so much for dropping in!

Looking back on the years that I’ve taken following Jesus seriously, I wish somewhere back at the beginning, I’d started a special journal devoted solely to recording the many, many moments where I’ve sensed the nearness of God as He has provided something I waited for and taught me to trust Him in the process.

I mentioned before that we moved a few months ago. And we moved into a house that didn’t have a dishwasher, or even a space appropriate for putting a dishwasher. The space on either side of the kitchen sink was too narrow, there was no water hookup anywhere near one free spot in the kitchen, the ‘peninsula’ (as in, not an island… that makes sense right?) where my stove and lots of cupboards live, faces the sink and might seem an obvious choice, but with limited cupboard space, it just seems wrong to knock out two cupboards to put it there.

We ummed and ahhhhed for ages about the right spot for a dishwasher. In the meantime, my Mom has blessed me beyond belief by washing dishes almost every time she is here, the Hubs has helped lots and often, and I have drawn nearer to the Lord while thanking Him that I have a window to look out while I wash dishes by hand.

{I know not having a dishwasher is a first world problem and try to keep that in perspective.}

We’d finally selected a dishwasher that seemed like the right one at the right price, and figured out where it would probably go. On the website, Lowes said they had it in stock, so off we went to purchase our dishwasher — an exciting event. We got there, and quickly discovered the website was wrong. The dishwasher was not in stock.

We stood long, the baby astride my hip, and looked at the other dishwashers, but weren’t really ready to make a decision about a different one (the Hubs is very good about reading reviews and making good shopping choices). So we left empty-handed, and gosh, that sure what a bummer!

It was time to trust the Lord was at work when we had to go back to the drawing board.

A few days later, my Mom was on the phone with a funny bit of news: a friend of hers wanted to know if we wanted her dishwasher. It worked perfectly fine, but she wanted a new one to match the other appliances in her kitchen.

Om… yes!

Not having to actually buy the dishwasher made having to pay a plumber to run a line under the house so we could install it in a new spot and a carpenter to build the cabinet around the dishwasher (really… this seems to be the only way) a much more manageable project.

We sensed the Lord’s kindness in the delay… He showed us how trustworthy He is.

Do you ever simply ask the Lord for something? I don’t always remember to ask, but I know I’d spoken to Him about that dishwasher more than a few times. When something seems missing or you’re looking at a bill you’re not sure how you’re going to pay, is your natural inclination to lean on your own self-sufficiency or to trust?

Trust in the Lord with all your heart,
And lean not on your own understanding;
In all your ways acknowledge Him,
And He shall direct your paths. {Prov. 3:5-6}

Trusting often requires a patience that is not in line with our modern way of thinking. We are members of Amazon Prime and enjoy the benefit of free two-day shipping on almost anything we order. While I used to wait weeks, even months for a package to make its way from the USA to South Africa, now with a point and click on Monday, I can count on seeing UPS roll up around lunchtime Wednesday.

When we order something somewhere else and have to wait more than three or four days, we now think Gosh, this sure is taking forever!! When will it BE here!!

The Lord, however, is not a dressed-in-brown-delivery-guy ready to answer your every whim and request. He absolutely does give good gifts to His children and it is good to turn to Him and to ask.

There are three answers my kids often get when they ask for something: Yes, No or Not Now, and I imagine it is the same for us. God has our best interests at heart when He says each of those three things.

Our mission, should we choose to accept it, is to ask (and sometimes to keep on asking) to trust (and keep on trusting) and to wait to see the Lord make His will a present reality. He is so trustworthy.

Have you seized an opportunity to trust and wait on God? I’d love to hear what happened in the comments!

xCC