When God shows up in a Starbucks gift card

Okay - laugh. Laugh all you want (God...in coffee...?).

But it's true.

I saw God in a small piece of plastic, sent from a famous coffee shop chain.

Last Friday was one of those days. Either you know what I am talking about, or you know of some magic way to skip over such days. If the latter is true, you may contact me with your secret by clicking on the "contact" button above. *smile* -Pretty sure we've all had "those days".

Directly after getting home from dropping K and Jay off at school I had to turn around and go right back to pick K up. He was afflicted with a migraine. It had come on fast and was quite painful. By the time I got there, with Noe and Kai in tow, he was in a deep sleep on some pillows in the back of his 1st grade class room. His sweet ParaPro (his one on one aide) was taking wonderful care of him, but it is still really hard to see him go through this!

Once we were home and had him settled I was able to have a couple of sweet hours of chatting with a friend. That was a much needed break from the many requirements that were closing in on my day. That afternoon was filled with phone calls to insurance companies and medical supply companies as I continued to try to sort our some of the new aspects to K's medical care in what is covered/what is not.

I had to take lots of deep breaths and say several of those little one line prayers, such as "okay God, you know how this is all going to work out. Help me to trust" and "calm my heart".

I took the short, but beautiful and refreshing, walk out to my mailbox in the midst of my tasking. I filled my senses with the outdoors. The smell of fall - SO crisp, fresh, and invigorating. Any one with me here? I want to find a perfume called "autumn". I would wear it in the middle of winter when I am chilled to the bone and haven't seen the sun for days.

I digress.

So, I am walking out to my mailbox. My feet are crunching on dark red, bright yellow, and deep brown leaves. I am whispering my heart to God.

My mailbox answered with a surprise. A small white envelope with little red berries on it.

Inside was a Starbucks gift card. Enough for like, 6 or 7 cups of coffee. I know!!

It may be just a little bit sad that I get so excited over coffee.

But that wasn't the main reason that I was so delighted. Don't get me wrong, coffee is great, and as I told the dear giver of this unexpected gift, it is a special comfort in my days. Something that I enjoy. Something for me. But personally, this was just another one of those confirmations. God sees, he hears, he knows, and he is going to show up in the details. It was kind of this heart lifting truth that not only were we going to be taken care of and have all of our needs met, but that, in addition to the need meeting, every now and then there would be special indulgances as well. Because God is like that.

All of those one line prayers uttered through out my day? Not one of them went unnoticed. I knew that before I got the mail. But there is nothing like a surprise gift/encouragement to highlight what you already know and remind you he cares. Some times he uses sweet aunts form Iowa to show you. ;)

Now, for my first cup... cinnamon dolce latte? Caramel macchiato? Pumpkin spice latte? Or maybe something I've never tried before, like a peppermint white chocolate mocha or a salted caramel hot chocolate? Such choices....