A VERY Emotional Day

(Post 3 from Jenny)

We tried to fit a good bit in to one day today. So, we got up and on the road early this morning, to the second prison. You probably noticed from my post yesterday, but we have to be very careful about specifics regarding these facilities, for many reasons. The main reason is that Sixty Feet is doing such an amazing work with these kids, and we don't want to do or say ANYTHING that would cause that to stop for any reason. They are giving these children hope, and for most of them, that is literally all they have.

We got a pretty good rain yesterday afternoon, so the roads were not so great on our 2 hour drive today. We went to a totally different facility that is much farther out in to the rural areas. Most of the trip was made on dirt roads, which had been converted to mud roads by the rains.


The drive was long but interesting. It was our first time to be that far out in the rural areas. We were able to see much less of the street vendors, shops, downtown etc., and much more of the mud huts, grass roofs, cows, goats and pigs. When we arrived at the facility, it was time for the children to have their breakfast. We were able to serve them some biscuits (cookies basically) with their porridge, which was a treat for these very shy and guarded kids. Then, we went into a large room, where the children that we were working with sang songs for us and worshiped. All I can say about it really is, you will just have to see the video. They sang and praised and then they all prayed, out loud together, but individually at the same time. They all were very clearly, pleading to God for hope....it was overwhelming. Most of us cried. Some of us (me) had snot and tears running down their faces by the time they were finished. When the kids looked up from their prayer time, they certainly must have wondered what on earth was the matter with all of us.

Then, we sang a couple of songs with the kids and started our t-shirt craft. It is very likely, not one of those kids have ever had a t-shirt that no one else has worn. Much less, one with their own name on it. Or, one that a herd of weepy mzungus helped them decorate. They had a great time and were all very creative.  We were very concerned from the start, about having enough t-shirts for all of the kids. We didn't want to offer something like this to some and not all. When we got towards the end of the line, the girls who were handing them out, saw about 20 more kids in line, and only 1 more shirt. They started to panic and asked Diana what to do. She said "All we can do is pray." So they did. Then another team member opened up a zipper pouch in the suitcase. Guess what? More shirts. We all cried some more.

Later, we went out in to the yard (much bigger than yesterday) and did bubbles, balloons, jump rope, soccer and just played with all of the kids. It was tough to be there. It was tough to leave.

We decided to take the other road out, which turned out to be a mistake. The mud was even worse on that road than on the first, and we got stuck. A bunch of children from the village were all out running and waving at us, and those sweet kids proceeded to push our bus out of the mud. We hydroplaned for a little while, but then we got back on track....sort of. We got stopped by the police once we got on the paved-ish roads. They probably just wanted to see what a whole bus full of white people were up to in that part of town. The officer came on our bus, said "Ha-looo" to us all, and sent us on our merry way. We got stopped again, but I don't think the officer even messed with us once he realized we were all white...and women.

We finally got back to Namirembe Guest House. We had to literally get our lunch, switch out our donations, and leave. We were already late to Royal Hope Academy, and we didn't want the children to have to wait on us any longer. So we hustled on over there, only about a 20 minute drive.

We were greeted on both sides of the road, by all of the school children, lined up singing and clapping. It was so sweet. We went in to their large classroom, where they sang and danced for us some more. We sang for them some as well. Rebecca shared a little and welcomed us all. We went out in to the yard area and just played. We were able to see the kids classrooms, play their games, and I took A LOT of their pictures. Little Ruthie, who you will see when i am able to post a few pictures, stole the show immediately! She is the sponsored child of my friend Amanda, and I wanted to keep my eye out for Ruth so I could meet her. I never imagined she would find me! She was the life of the party the whole time. We all had sweet, happy, kids playing and hanging all over us. It was just what we all needed after a very sad morning.

We had the honor of going back to My Fathers House, where Rebecca, Michael, Charity and the 16 children they have taken in, live. Charity made the most wonderful dinner for all of us; potatoes, fried rice, noodles, green peas, pineapple and watermelon, that wasn't even all of it. It was fabulous. We all began to eat and then the power went out. Without skipping a beat, Rebecca, Michael, Charity and the children just went right along with what they were doing. I am sure that wasn't a first for them! We were able to talk and eat for a while with Rebecca and the kids,  then we painted the girls toes outside, by lantern light. We gave them all the donations we had brought, hung out for a little longer, then we had to be on our way. Rebecca and Charity prayed. We all cried. The most surprising thing was, I realized that Ruthie was crying too. She kept saying " I want to go toooo America!" Bless her sweet little heart.

Can't wait to post some pics from today so you can put all the pieces together, but that will have to wait, because I have a low Internet signal, and I must go shower and wash all the caked dirt off my feet. :)

The place we are staying in Jinja for the next 2 nights, doesn't have power. I probably won't be able to post again for a couple of days. But, I will try to write the blogs and just post them when we get back to Namirembe on Friday.

Goodnight!
~Jenny mo~

Philippians 4:19

And my God will meet all your needs according to the riches of his glory in Christ Jesus.

A very warm welcome

The kids who are new to the remand centers are  not allowed to wear shirts, I think for the first 2 weeks

This little guy had special needs. We decorated his shirt for him. Broke. My. Heart.

This is the boy who almost left in tears. We got his shirt just right and he was so happy.

I don't even have words for how this moves my heart.......

I still can't believe that these kids (who did not know us) pushed our bus out of the mud.....

Hooray! We are free!

 

 

 Yep, that's a pink chicken.....

 

So Many Questions.....

(Post 2 From Jenny)


(The Guys with all the questions)

Today was our first day ministering to the kids at the first remand center we will visit. They greeted us with a song that was beautiful even though none of us understood a word of it. Then we went around the circle and introduced ourselves to all of the kids. They truly wanted to know about us which was so neat.

We taught them a couple of songs with motions which they enjoyed, and then shared the gospel with them….via translation. We then split in to groups and helped the kids make salvation bracelets….I was surprised by how many of them did not even know how to make a simple knot. They really loved the bracelets but enjoyed seeing us smile and talk to them even more.

I spoke with one boy who spoke great English. He said he had been in University before he came to the Remand center. He said he hopes to go back when he gets out. I hope he does. 

Then the fun began. Boys were constantly on the drums. The soccer balls came out and we played in the small strip of dirt that they have as their “play” area. Beach balls, balloons, kick balls all were flying through the air. The kids had a great time and so did the team.

As our time began to come to a close, 2 boys I will call M and H sat with me and began to ask me so many questions.

“Why are Americans so (motions with his hand out from his hips) fat?”

“They tell us that Americans eat snake and frogs. Is this true?”

“They tell us that if we come to America they will take us at the airport and question us and arrest us. Is this true?”

“Is it possible for a boy from Uganda to marry American woman”

“How can we ever make it to America?”

“Why does America have all things and are so rich, but we because we are brown are all so poor in this whole country?”

“What are the prisons for children like in America?”

The best answers I could come up with were pray because God can do anything and work hard to get your education. I know I probably left those boys with more questions than I did answers, but I hope that I gave them at least the smallest glimmer of…..hope.

It is amazing to me what a world opens up inside of these children with a simple smile and eye contact. One asked me why we would come to Uganda for vacation. I told him we were most certainly not on vacation and that we came because we care about him and God does too. I told him we were missionaries (they knew what that meant but I just think our group of women was not what they had pictured) and we want to pray for him and tell him about Jesus.

Blessings,

~Jennymo~

(Jenny, after I read this, this is the verse God showed me)

Ecclesiastes 12:10

The Teacher searched to find just the right words, and what he wrote was upright and true.

 

 

 

(All pictures by Jenny Clark)

I Don't Think We Are In Kansas Anymore...

~The next 3 posts, at least, are going to be from a sweet lady I met at church. She went to Africa, on a missionary trip, to visit a children's prison. Yes, you read that right. It was a great eye opener reading what she posted, and God worked through her team the whole time she was there. I will be taking these from her blog: mojennymo.blogspot.com, in case you can't wait to read what happens next!~


OK, so these Africa posts are going to be mostly me journaling things I have seen and experienced, devoid of my usual witty banter. :)


I meet up with my friend Jenny Dixon, who just HAPPENED to be not only in our same hotel but on our SAME FLIGHT to Ethiopia to adopt their daughter....what a cool God thing to see a familiar face on such an unfamiliar trip!


The air travel was actually not as bad as I had thought it would be. It was looooooong, but not unbearable. I slept a lot so that made it go by faster. Then we arrived in Ethiopia. I lost a day in there somewhere.....and I am still not totally sure what day it is now, but I know it is dark outside.


After a quick hour and a half flight to Entebbe, our air travel for the first (of 3) legs was complete! We were greeted by our friend from Cannan Children's home, with a bus to tote all us crazy women, and a truck to tote all of our huge luggage. Before I even got off the sidewalk at the airport, a car came at me so fast that I was sure he would hit me, and half my luggage flew off my cart. He hustled out of his car exclaiming "mzungus!" (white people). I knew it would happen eventually so why not get it out of the way right at the start. Then the drive through Kampala began.


It was exactly what I expected and totally not what I expected. I assumed that the "rural" areas and the city areas were separated, at least by a little distance. But that is not the case in Kampala. We saw goats just hanging out on the side of the road. A bull with horns so big I would swear they weighed more than he did. Unattended children everywhere....mostly small babies. No way to tell if they have mothers nearby or if they are street children.


Women wearing no shoes, were selling shoes on the side of the road.....not one of which had a match. Just a sea of individual shoes....I guess you just try to find 2 that sort of "go" together. Women with baskets of bananas on their heads. Women grilling corn over a grill that I am sure they probably also carried on their head, from wherever it is that they live. The mannequins in the store fronts wore African clothes, but they were all white. And all wearing very strange expressions on their faces.


And then there is the traffic. Not only do they drive on the wrong side of the road, but they drive 2, sometimes 3 deep on the wrong side of the road. And the motorbikes. They are everywhere. They just come whizzing by your window between 2 cars that were way to close together to start with. It is a wonder one vehicle in this city still has it's rear view mirrors in tact. Each motorbike 1, 2 or 3 deep with passengers. They honk their horns as if it will make any difference at all. It doesn't. The "traffic police" blow whistles and wave people to move on in LITERAL bumper to bumper traffic as if it will make someone hurry. It doesn't.


After a brief time to get settled in at the guest house, five of us went out with Michael from My Father's House, to exchange currency and get some water, bread, peanut butter etc for the team for lunch tomorrow. I didn't expect the traffic to be insane-er than it was the first time. I didn't expect the dudes with rifles outside the currency exchange place, although I was grateful they were there. I didn't expect to see a woman in the dirt on the side of the road pulling up her drawers after doing her business there in front of God and everyone.


Then we went to the market where you can buy anything from Nike soccer balls to doormats to bread and peanut butter. All very surreal.


The traffic was even worse on the way back and that is when we saw the street children. Sitting on cardboard mats, spread out at an equal distance from each other, begging. For anything. One little boy, about 4 years old , came up to our can and we have him all the peanut butter crackers we had through the window. He smiled and ate at least 2 before he even got back to his "spot". The we saw a mother who couldn't have been more than 15, set her 1 year old baby down on the sidewalk while she plundered through the trash for something to wipe her hiney with. I guess the baby had a dirty diaper.....just no diaper.


So, we are experiencing a great deal of culture shock and exhaustion. Going to bed now. We will be at the prisons tomorrow so pray for that.


Whoever has my babies, kiss them extra much for me tonight please!


Much love,


~Jennymo ~

Mark 16:15
He said to them, Go into all the world and preach the good news to all creation.

My first glimpse of Africa

We are heeeeerrrrreeee!

 

Begging street children everywhere

The sign on our house at Namirembe

 

Angel In The Rain

As I made my way to the doctor’s office early one morning, I noticed a strange site. The skies were pouring rain and a sad man stood at the curb, staring at me. He was not a person that anyone would take notice of---he had a beard and long, wet hair.  He looked at me as if to say:  “Can’t you help me?”

I did not want to miss my appointment, so I drove on, but could not get this man’s face out of my mind.  After I finished at the doctor, I drove back to the spot where this pitiful man had been standing.  I was upset to see that he was no longer there and even wondered if I had imagined seeing him.

I drove to the nearest store, bought a biscuit, juice and an umbrella.  I drove around for a few minutes, hoping to see him again.  I never did, so I placed my plastic bag in the same spot where I had seen him at the curb.  I will never know if he found my meager offering, or not.  There was a very large tree near the curb; maybe, just maybe he had taken shelter under that tree from the rain.  I would like to think that he saw me leave the bag and that he had something to eat that day and a much needed umbrella.

Part of me wonders if this was Jesus standing there that day.  He certainly looked the way I would picture Jesus today.  Maybe it was an angel trying to tell me not to ignore “the least of these”.  I can only hope that God will continue to open my eyes to see those that He would help, and to never forget His words:  “A cup of cold water (or an umbrella) given in My name will not loose its reward”!

~Emily~

Matthew 25:34-40

 “Then the King will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father; take your inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world. For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in,  I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me.’

"Then the righteous will answer him, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink?  When did we see you a stranger and invite you in, or needing clothes and clothe you?  When did we see you sick or in prison and go to visit you?’
“The King will reply, ‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me.’

Publix

At first I didn't want to post this, because I believe, as the Bible tells us, not to share good deeds. We're not to toot our own horn or brag about a tiny moment where we act as we should. So, I let this experience marinate on my mind for a few days. I then realized the story itself can show others, that you never know how something so small, can be so big to someone else. As you read, please understand that is where my intent is.

It was the morning after we had gone to see The Basement for a second time, (see The Basement testimony). My oldest, Tucker, had one of his friends over, and I was rushing in to Publix, to get some breakfast and lunch food for them. I got in line, and of course, I had to get in the line where the lady was taking forever!! I was sitting there saying to myself, "Well if there's going to be a lane that's messed up, you get in it Stacy!" Then I started saying to myself, "Hurry up, hurry up, HURRY UP!" While I was having a selfish hissy fit, I noticed that the lady was shaking trying to get her money together to give the cashier. She was trying to decide whether to buy toilet paper. I grew up very poor, and I know what that feels like. I couldn't sit there and have a woman have to decide that. I pulled a $10 bill out of my purse and gave it to the cashier. The little lady looked at me and said, "What are you doing? No, don't do that, please, don't." I wouldn't listen to her, partly because she was going to have some toilet paper, and partly because I wanted her to get out of my way! I had to tell her I was going to take that toilet paper and get it myself. I told the cashier not to listen to her to get my point across. The little lady said, "At least take the change." I told her no. The Holy Spirit then had me remember what Annette Henderson said not long ago. (Annette is a mentor at my church) I looked at her, and said, "We are supposed to take care of God's children aren't we?" Isn't it sweet that God brought those words to my mind to say to an elderly lady?

Something happened that I did not expect. This little old lady began tearing up and said, "God sent you to me! Do you know that? I know you're an angel and he sent you to me." We ALL know I do not qualify for angel status, so we don't need to address that comment. I just looked at her and smiled. Then, she came up to me as she was crying, and said, "I lost my husband a few weeks ago. I just got back from the doctor, and he told me I have cancer." Well, what do you do with all of that, while you're in line to buy food? I was taken back. She then said to me, "I prayed to God to help me, to show me He's listening and then you show up and do this." All I knew to do for that pitiful woman was grab her and say, "Can I pray for you?" She said, "Please." So we prayed right there in the line; that God would bring His peace over her and her family during this time of sorrow. We prayed that she would be healed in Jesus' name. We prayed when she goes back to the doctor, they will see no more cancer there. Amen!

She took her groceries and toilet paper and left. I turned to the people behind me and apologized for holding the line up. I explained a little of what happened, and they said they understood and figured something was wrong. When I got out to the parking lot, I saw her heading to her car with tears just streaming down her face. She looked so lost. You know that look, when you lose someone or have been told really bad news. I went home, and told the boys what had happened. You never know, and I know I have said this in other posts, how God will use you if you let him. Praise God He still used me, even though I had a bad attitude to start with.

Yesterday, I was in Publix again, with Tucker and his friends. I was about to leave, and the girl bagging our groceries said, "Hey, you're that lady aren't you? You're the one who prayed for the lady not long ago." I said, "Yes, that was me." She said, "I told my mom what happened. Did something good happen to you after that? Did God bless you for it?" I told her being able to witness what happened, was a blessing to me. We got on a conversation of how things have been changing in my life; how we are having healings and great things happen at our church. So much so, that I started a blog, so we could share what's going on. I told her, "Next time I come in, I'll give you the blog's name."

As we were leaving, the boys wanted a drink out of the machine. I told them we were almost home, they can wait. For some reason though, they had to have one, and it took forever for the drinks to come out. Once again, I was getting frustrated and impatient. Then God prompted me, "Didn't I just teach you this lesson?" I dropped my groceries and my purse, wrote down the blog name, and gave it to the cashier. The girl I was talking to had gone out to the parking lot. I have got to learn to listen more when God prompts me. I've got to stop being so impatient sometimes, and ask myself, "Why is it taking so long? Why can't I get home quickly?" Sometimes, it's just a hectic day. Other times though, there is a reason; a quiet gentle whisper, asking a favor. I pray that as I grow more, I will stop screaming in my head, "Hurry up!!" and start asking, "Did you just say something God?"
~Stacy~

Ephesians 3:7

I became a servant of this gospel by the gift of God's grace given me through the working of his power.

The Week I Walked With God

Here is another powerful testimony of when John Marc and I met for the first time...

    I had just turned 35 years old. I was sitting in my new house that I had just purchased, with my new furniture, new rugs, etc.,  but no one to share it with. I was beginning to think I would always be alone and would never meet my soul mate. That night, my father came over because I was hosting a birthday party for my mom. Before he left, I remember sobbing and asking him to please pray that I would meet my mate because I was so incredibly lonely. I had dated many men but never "just knew" as they say. He said that he would diligently pray for me to meet my husband every day. Oh, the prayers of a righteous man avails much. My dad has since gone to be with the lord; but oh, how faithful his prayers were. He was praying as a father would for his daughter to meet a godly man. He prayed fervently every day and night for the next 3 weeks for me to meet my husband.


It was a crisp Fall day in October of 2001, when John Marc Green stepped into my office. I was working as a school counselor at Epic Magnet School in Birmingham. I was in charge of our annual "Say No To Drugs" campaign and had set up guest speakers to speak on drug awareness. The principal approached me, and said that a reporter from CBS 42 News was going to be interviewing me for the story on Red Ribbon Week.  I remember when she introduced me to John Marc I thought he looked too young for me ( I thought I was an old maid) even though he is only 4 years younger that me. I remember my father was standing right next to him when the principal introduced us, because Dad had brought a friend of his to be one of the guest speakers for the program. Now that I look back, I know that was God because he had placed my father and John Marc right next to each other as we met. Anyway, I remember when John Marc started speaking, his voice was so soothing and there was something different about his countenance. His eyes had a warmth to them and I was drawn to his level of maturity. I can't say it was love at first sight but there was definitely something different about this man. The story aired that night and I thought I would never see this man again.


Instead, he called "to see how I liked the story" and the rest is history. We dated for only 5 months before we were engaged. There were many spiritual moments where we felt God was in the middle of our relationship and was confirming that he had placed the two of us together. There was one particular moment that stands out the most. We were sitting outside the church we were attending at the time, under a huge cross with a lake behind it.  John Marc had tears in his eyes as he said "Mimi, look where we are sitting; we are sitting in the shadow of the cross."  I knew then that I was to marry him and that God would always be in the midst of us. When times get rough, we always remember the time when "we sat in the shadow of the cross." 

 We were married after the next 3 months with my father walking me down the aisle in tears. He knew, as I knew, that his faithful prayer for his daughter had been answered. But that is not the end of this story. About a week before I met John Marc, after my father started praying, I experienced one week of what I now know is "the anointing of the Holy Spirit."  I have never before experienced the presence of the Holy Spirit so strongly in my life. It was as if Christ were literally walking right alongside with me. I had an unspeakable joy.  I felt love immeasurably. People were asking me what had happened because I was just not myself. I was not doing anything differently. I was not taking any new medicine. I was just filled with the Holy Spirit and could not contain it. Never before had I experienced anything like this. It felt wonderful! This feeling lasted for about a week and then I met John Marc. The timing was unmistakable. I knew without a shadow of a doubt what God was telling me. He was telling me "Mimi, I am about to bring you your soul mate, the man that your father has been praying for.  But I never want you to forget what this feels like because it is greater that what any man on earth can give you...always remember that I am the one you can turn to when man lets you down, I will never fail  you, never forsake you. I am about to bring you the man that I hand-selected just for you, but don't forget what you and I shared the week we walked together."   
~Mimi~

Psalm 37:4

Delight yourself in the Lord and he will give you the desires of your heart.

Met By Grace

A few months ago, I was walking into Target, when from behind me, came a loud, crashing, noise. I turned around and saw that a lady had just smashed her car into the back of another person's car, damaging their bumper and tail light. I stood there thinking, "Boy, I sure am glad that she didn't back into my car, and I am glad that I'm not her." I took my time walking into Target after I saw this happen. I must regrettably admit that I was being Ms. Judgment that day. I wanted to make sure she didn't drive off since she had done some significant damage to the other vehicle. I tried to convince myself that I was hanging around because it was my civic duty as a beneficial, contributing member of society, to look out for the other guy and make sure the right thing was done. I wanted to make sure that this lady owned up to what she had done. Well, she did re-park and make a phone call. This satisfied me. She seemed to be taking the proper steps to take care of it, so I went on in and did my shopping. When I came out, I saw that she was still there with the police and I knew that she had done the right thing.

A few weeks later, I walked out of Bed Bath and Beyond at the Summit. I got into my car, cranked it up, put it in reverse, looked in my rear view mirror, and backed out of my parking space the same as I always do; turning my wheel the proper amount to get out of the space and drive off. However, this time I didn't have the same result as I always do. This time, rather than being able to drive off happily, I plowed into the back of a large Ford extended cab pickup truck! The truck was hanging out of its parking space two feet more than the other cars. "Uh oh," I said, as I was in disbelief over what I had just done. I parked my car, got out, looked at my vehicle and it had a huge dent in it. Cringing, I then went over to the truck that I had hit and thoroughly inspected it. I didn't see a dent on it, not even a ding, not even a mark of paint, not even a....uh oh. There was the tee-tiniest little scuff mark in the world on the bumper. It was probably less than an inch or so in size, and it was so faint. I got my "mommy fix it bag" out, and went to wiping their bumper with a baby wipe, but guess what? The tiny little scuff mark still remained. It wasn't going to go away. I knew I needed to wait around for the driver of the vehicle to come out so I could show him what I had done (hoping he would let me off the hook of course).

After waiting around a good 20 minutes or so, I called my husband, Mike, and began convincing him and myself that there was no need to hang around any longer. I had come up with so many excuses as to why I thought it would be acceptable to drive off at that point. After all, it was barely even noticeable, and I had my little three month old Lydia in the car with me. I needed to go pick up Matthew from preschool. I needed to go get ready for a surprise jewelry party I was having at my house that night; and my husband has cancer and is going through chemo, and he said it would probably be OK to leave...you name it, I came up with it. Even though all of the things I mentioned were really going on, they still didn't give me an excuse to run from my current dilemma. After waiting this long, I convinced myself that the driver of the vehicle could have been in any number of stores; no telling where they were, or when they would be back. A handful of people had come out into the parking lot and left in their cars, but no one had come out to that ol' truck, so I left. Yes, I drove off.

 I was running. I was taking complete control over the situation by not facing the situation at all. That's when God reminded me, "Tonya, don't you remember when you saw this happen to someone else just a few short weeks ago? Don't you remember what your response was? Even though no one hung around to make sure you did the right thing, I am here and I see you." "Uh oh," I thought again, as I glided off down Summit Parkway. Even though I feared what the outcome might be if I met face to face with the driver of the vehicle, I knew I needed to go back. God told me to turn around and make just one last loop around the parking lot; watching to see if anyone came out to that truck. So, I did and when I arrived, I parked next to the truck for a quick second. I briefly considered the idea of writing a little note to the driver stating what I had done with my phone number on it. I was just about to look for a pen and piece of paper, when I noticed a lady walking out into the parking lot headed in the direction of the truck. She was the driver of that big thing? How unexpected! She passed by the faint little scuff mark without skipping a beat, and began to open her door and get in. I hopped quickly out of my car, went over to her, and told her what I had done. She took a little gasp as she headed towards the back of her truck to look at the bumper. When she saw it, she let out a sigh of relief, and told me that she wasn't a bit worried about that. She told me not to worry about it, but she appreciated me hanging around to check with her. She was so sweet, gracious and forgiving. I let out a big sigh of relief, and thanked her for letting me off the hook. I realized it could have turned out differently.

As I drove off, I began to learn a much needed lesson that I wanted to share with you. Rather than attempting to control the situation, rather than running away from my problems, rather than letting fear direct me, I let go and let God that day. I put myself out there, and made myself vulnerable and I put it in His hands. I subjected myself to whatever He would allow to happen, and submitted myself to allow for His outcome. When I did this, I was met by grace. Not just the sweet lady's grace, but His grace. He showed me that I can trust Him and that He will take care of me, but I have to give up the control. He was helping me see I needed to give up the control, not just over this situation, but over all that I had been going through and am still going through. He wanted me to see that I can give it over to Him, and He will take care of me. No matter what happens, I will remain In His Arms.
~Tonya~

 2 Corinthians 12:9

 And he said unto me, My grace is sufficient for thee: for my strength is made perfect in weakness.

 Proverbs 3:6

 In all thy ways acknowledge Him, and He shall direct thy paths.

 Psalm 119:133

Direct my steps by Your Word, and let no iniquity have dominion over me.