The Lord’s Abundant Providence

This past summer I crouched in the garden, engulfed in the South Carolina warmth, with weeds in one hand and many worries in my heart. I knew that I would be entering missions in the early fall, but with this came some concerns and many unknowns. Turning to prayer, I straightened a bit facing a flowerbed in the garden. As I did so the Lord brought to mind a lovely zinnia such as those that had bloomed in that very bed during the previous summers. The flower’s narrow pink petals spread full and overlapping from its sturdy center.

The Lord reminded me, that the flower bloomed for a certain time and its beauty could only be fully enjoyed then, and if we try to look to those that will come and which we cannot see yet, we will miss what is right in front of us. God knows what we need in the future, and He will provide those flowers then.

The Lord helped me to learn to accept the freedom He offers, trust in Him, and be where He puts me. This trust is not easy. I am not sure specifically what my future will bring, and I am sure you are not either, but the Lord knows. If we follow Him in the moment, turning to Him for everything, He will “establish our steps” (Proverbs 16:9), even when we cannot see how.

Recently the Lord has continued to invite me into this trust and show me His faithfulness. I listened to a talk in which the speaker recounted Abraham’s answer to God’s call to go into the wilderness and follow Him, to trust Him regarding his family, and even the apparent command to slaughter his own son. In all of these things God provided. I read the Bible verse the other day about how we are descendants of Abraham. I now know why the Lord brought that up—He wants me to continue to trust that He will provide.

The Lord has shown His faithful, abundant providence in so many ways already. Leading up to Intake (our missionary training), I was concerned about the challenges new community and schedules would pose, but when the time came the Lord provided for my needs and the grace to rely on Him.

God has paved the way for beautiful friendships, which I have been blessed by here in Louisiana, and has not only helped me navigate a new schedule, but shown me how to rest, trust, and surrender to Him more within that. Just the week before last, I was finally able to have a meeting that I had been working on setting up for months. This meeting fell at the perfect time, directly preparing me for the formation talks of the coming week. These are just some of the ways the Lord faithfully provided beautiful flowers at the perfect time, and I know He will continue to do so.

“Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways submit to him, and he will make your paths straight” (Proverbs 3: 5-6).