God Still Cares.

My spiritual disciplines used to feel pretty solid. Not always perfect, but good.

Then #TheFives swept in with their “Early morning wake-up call” and “Hour-long time goal,” and everything changed. Prayer changed from a conversation with God to an essential for my faith’s daily survival.

I typically share everyone else’s story before we launch a new prayer session. Today, I want to share my own story instead. Here is how God proved to me that prayer is still mind-blowing…

My family was blessed with a Victorian home built in 1903 that we now call “home.” God arranged some supernatural appointments for us to own our dream home- the price, location, flowers in the yard- every little detail was what we wanted.

As with every old house, there were repairs to be made.

Our front porch is rotting. There is termite damage. There is only ONE bathroom *gasp* for all four of us.

When faced with the repairs needed and looking at our bank account, we realized something painful:

These repairs would take us years to save for.

My husband and I had the typical “Should I get a job?” conversation, asking God to guide our choices. Because, as much as I love having my nights off with my family, maybe being faithful to this gift God gave us would require a little bit of extra work on our part.

As we prayed every morning through #TheFives, it became apparent to both of us that neither of us was to pick up an extra job.

“Ok, God. Then what’s the plan?”

My husband Joey walked through our house and prayed to himself,

“God, I know you didn’t bring us this house to let it fall down around us. Show us what to do.”

And in that moment God answered:

“I will take care of it all. But it is going to happen in a way that you would never expect.”

Ok, God. Got it.

Then a week went by.

No check in the mail. No lonely carpenter wandering the streets looking for a family to bestow with free front porch repair. God’s faithfulness seemed further away than before.

Then it happened.

More than I ever could have imagined, and certainly more than I had prayed for.

The man who sold us the home showed up on my doorstep. I had never met him before, as he sold us his  home while he was living in Florida. But here he was, flesh and blood, asking if I would allow him the privilege of walking his girlfriend through the home she had heard so much about.

I was ecstatic to invite them into my home, asking for stories of the past, as well as any words of wisdom he had for care of the home. History was alive in my home for almost two hours, as told by the previous homeowner who cherished my home just as much as I did. His wife had passed while owning this home and the pain was still evident through our conversations. This house held the last memories of he and his wife, a tomb of life and love finally being opened for my family to now understand. He spoke of the late nights spent in the glow of the Christmas tree, the hours of work his wife invested in the beautiful blooms right outside the window, and her passion to make her hometown a better place.

When his wife had grown sick and eventually passed, the house sat empty as they searched for a buyer. It was during this time that most of the current damage occurred in the home. As we stood in my driveway, wrapping up our time together, he dropped a bomb shell. He shared that he wanted to continue his stewardship of this home that had given him so much.

He wanted to fix the problems in our home as a way to honor the memories that the home had given him.

What?!?

This man, whom sold us our home thousands below asking price, whom I had never met, whom had no further ties to the house, was going to pay for the repairs that we needed.

The words that my husband heard from God rang in my ears:

“I will take care of it all. But it is going to happen in a way that you would never expect.”

He has gifted us with $7,500 to fix our home, no strings attached.

Never would I have expected God to show up this way, using this man, but He did.

God took our prayers, made in the dark of 5am, and answered them in the bright of the day so everyone could see His faithfulness.

God wanted me to share my story, to remind those of you who question if God is listening to our prayers that He IS and He CAN answer them in any way He pleases.

God STILL cares.

But we must ASK.

We must SEEK.

We must be able to acknowledge the supernatural things in our lives are not just coincidences or luck, but the gifting of a God who longs to give us good things.