~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
It all started out with some friends by the lake last Tuesday night. Wonderful fellowship and getting to talk to our missionary's wife a little bit longer than I have been able to before. Some deep conversations, some not-so-deep conversations. I'm just starting to head home around 11/11:30pm when I run something over in the gravel and end up having a flat tire. When I finally get to a spot that I can change it, there was a guy sitting in his truck. No big deal, I have my parents on the phone already anyways, they can just listen to me change my tire. He even turned his truck off at one point, all the while his truck is facing my car. Eventually he took off, but this is only the beginning of blessings for this story (as well as the tire not blowing in general). When the tire is finally changed, I and my car limp back to the house around 12. Tomorrow is a new day, and so far, God has provided safety.
Wednesday morning, I walked out to my car to find the feather with blue. Feathers may not mean a lot to some people, but since meeting a special friend a few years back, they mean something when found in odd or unexpected places. It was just a small reminder that God cares about the little things.
So I take the tire in to a local tire shop to get it repaired. Unbeknownst to me, the hole is too big and the tire cannot be repaired. Thankfully, once again, God planned it just right so that there is an exact match in the tire shop's used bin and I have money set aside that will cover both the new tire and it getting placed on the rim.
When I get back to work and go to change the tire, not only do I find the other two feathers pictured above, but the drizzling rain is making a big rectangle around my car. With the rain being blown sideways slightly, the trees at the edge of the parking lot are blocking it so I can change my tire and stay dry.
Then, just to solidify this whole adventure is God reminding me that He is in control, I get this reminder in a fortune cookie. I normally don't take a lot of stock in them and find them very amusing, but this one held a bit of a different message. To say I laughed is an understatement...it was a full belly laugh for a few seconds which was reduced to simply smiling the rest of the day.
While I may not get flowers every day, I like to look at flowers on a regular basis and we have some pretty amazing wildflowers up here in Alaska. These ones were given to me by a co-worker for helping her with something the week before.
Alaska in general...and my car. The car is because Alaska is SO BIG!! I have a 15 minute drive at the LEAST to get anywhere decent, whether it be shopping, church, or fun. But I would not trade it for the world. I love Alaska and am grateful for every day that God gives me in this beautiful land.
So, a few of my friends know about my budgeting ways. Some of my bankers even know about it. But this is the app I use. I like it a lot and it helps me keep things straight. It's also part of the reason I had the money for that new tire mentioned above. Emergency funds are a VERY important aspect of life I have learned.
This is a picture of my special friend and one of her kids. She is a shining light in my life and always helps to keep things in perspective. She is an amazing lady, mother, and friend. I hope that one day I can be half as ingenuitive as her. She is the one who showed me how to make a cloak and just be happy with the little things in life that I always take for granted. We talk on a regular basis, but the times I get to visit her are some of the best. This year, I got to visit her in Haines, AK and had a wonderful time spoiling her and her family and taking pictures of them.
And last but not least, this goes along with my feathers from up above. This eagle in particular is a very special girl. She is located in Juneau and is taken care of by a group because she cannot take care of herself in the wild anymore. She had started out with her back to everyone when I went to visit her, but when I went to leave, she hopped closer and started staring at me. She was posing beautifully for the other people there taking pictures and with was just an all-around amazing experience.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Overall, my God is so amazing. I love more every day and even the days that I fall behind or fail in some way, He is there to lift me back up. I'm grateful this world is not my home and I'm just passing through. Thanks for reading this rambling post and I hope it helps someone else remember that no matter where we are, we are never too far for God to reach us still.
