The String

So imagine a string.   Whatever color you want, whatever material you want.   This string represents God's hand, and it is woven through each part of who you are, from the beginning of your life to the end.  Lately, the Lord has been showing me the truth of Romans 8:28 that says "And we know that in all things God works for the good for those who love Him, and have been called according to His purpose."  Let me explain by sharing a recent example from my life.
  My house went on the market a few days ago.   This is a very big deal to me, in fact it's miraculous.    It's a townhouse I have owned for about 9 years.  It's been rented out since my husband and I got married because it is too far away from where my stepson goes to school and we decided it was better to live closer to his mom to keep things easier on everyone.   We live in an apartment now, which is not my favorite thing, not even my second favorite thing, but it's a season.  When I bought my townhouse I had not yet met my husband and thought it would be a nice place to start a family, spend a few years and then move to a bigger place together.   I'll be honest.....it was a hard thing to let go.   I love my husband, I love my stepson, and I would not change anything for the world, but there was a part of me that morned when I moved out of my house.   A part of me that felt like I had to let go of a dream, and watch someone else raise their kids in my home.  
Here is the part that causes me to stop and say "what a mighty God we serve".  
You see, about 8 years ago, when I was still living in my townhouse, Bank of America sold one of my loans (I had an 80/20) to a different company.  At the time I didn't totally understand what had happened so I called Bank of America to get clarification and was told that the bank had sold a loan but had actually sold the wrong one.  They were suppose to have sold the smaller loan but had sold the larger one instead in error.   No big deal on my end, just meant making payments to two banks instead of one.  Didn't give it much more thought.    The next few years brought many struggles and many joys, but when I finally decided it was time to move and rent out my house, I felt the Lord say that He had not forgotten my hopes.   That He would restore what I was letting go of and that He would use the situation for good.   A few months after our wedding, I was at church for a rehearsal and our worship pastor said these words I will never forget, he said "The Lord has been telling me lately to pray for something crazy.   Something I would never even think to ask for or pray about and believe that He is a big enough God to do it, I encourage you to do that this evening".   So I prayed.    I prayed for $100,000.    Totally crazy right?!    You see....right after I bought my house all those years ago, the market crashed and I had been left with more debt then the house was worth.   My hearts desire was to pay off the smaller loan (27,000) so that we would be able to sell the house and buy one in the part of town we need to be in.    I don't know why I chose that big a number, I guess because it was a round number, easy to remember.   I prayed that prayer every day for about 3 months and then out of the blue, I received a letter from Bank of America.   The letter stated that due to a mandate from the department of justice they had been required to pay back a certain amount of money to home owners and that they would be forgiving my loan.   Forgiving it.   Completely.    I have never felt the reality of grace in my life so much as when that loan disappeared.    And just like that....the smaller loan was no more.    This is miraculous in a few ways....first, Not only did the Lord answer my crazy prayer, but He did it in a way that I knew it was Him.   Second, this has allowed me to be able to put my house up for sale because I no longer owe more then the house is worth.   Third...and this is what He has been reminding me this week, had Bank of America sold the smaller loan like they were originally suppose to do....none of this would have happened.   8 years ago, a small administrative mistake made the way for a miraculous event that has given me more then just hope.   It has restored something that was lost.    The older I get, the more I can see His hand, like a string in my life, woven through each crease and crevice....and it pulls me closer to Him with ever twist and turn.  Does this mean every crazy prayer will end in something like that....no....but a prayer prayed will never go unanswered and when we look back on our lives and see His hand...the string....we can see the evidence that He is working all things for our good and for His glory.