Free oranges and the miracle of the dissapearing overdraft :).

This morning I got up real early and got ready to do the window cleaning that I had scheduled to do today.

On thinking about the job interview I had also lined up for later this afternoon I decided to postpone it and ask the company some more questions before deciding to make the 3 hour round trip to Chula Vista to go on yet another interview that might have been for an undesirable job.

It may be that I lost the opportunity to get a job at this company as a result but that's really not a big deal given that I don't think it would have worked for me to commute 3 hours every day to work just 4 hours. That would have been a ridiculous waste of time to make a measly $10 an hour when the local burger joint nearby is hiring cashiers (which I hope to apply for).

On getting to what I thought was a $100 window cleaning job the lady of the house had changed her mind and only wanted the outside done....which I had no problem doing for my regular, non-discounted price of $67 (I had given her a deal of $100 for both the inside and outside).

A little after I started to work she suggested that I take some of her oranges home with me. She had a tree and since she is moving there was no sense in having the oranges go to waste. And she squeezed a delicious glass of fresh orange juice for me from freshly picked oranges!

What really was rather astounding about this job was that it was only about four blocks from where I am staying. And there was a step ladder there that I used to get at some windows that would have been difficult to get at without a step ladder.

The lady of the house also offered to give me a fan. A large fan that sits on a stand...which will come in handy when it starts to get hotter...weather wise.

And that's not all. She also offered to let me pick some hot peppers from her little pepper plants.

And she had hoses and an attachment that allowed me to clean the screens and some of her very dirty windows much more easily than would have been the case otherwise.

And I was driven home...even though I could have walked (making two trips), with the oranges, the peppers, the fan, and my window cleaning equipment!

Mind you...I did not ask for any of this with the exception of asking her if she had a hose attachment. God was once again showing me His gracious kindness in showing me favor in the eyes of those I come in contact with.

As soon as I was done and dropped off at home, I changed, and headed out to the bank to try and make up for going into the red yesterday as a result of my toll free window cleaning phone number company charging me their monthly fee (which I had not remembered to account for).

On the way there...I brought my needs before God once again. My most immediate need, now that I had money, being to get my bank account back into the black and to have my bank forgive $40 worth of fees for my having allowed the account to go into overdraft.

If they took $40 out + the amount of my phone bill (about $11) I would not have had enough left to go to Hometown Buffet and have a good meal or rather it would not have been a wise use of the little money I would have once again had left. I would have had to go back on a diet of hamburgers and oatmeal until more money came through.

So...I prayed, asking the Lord to show me favor in the eyes of bank personel such that my fees could be forgiven if it was His will that I be able to go to Hometown Buffet to get a good meal into my belly . But if not...that I would just take it as His will that I make do without the Buffet meal.

On getting to the bank, the overdraft amount that had been so evident yesterday and that several tellers had seen...was...well...gone. Just gone. Nowhere to be seen. My bank account was back in the black at the $1 that I had previously had in it. No one could explain what had happened to my overdraft of yesterday other than to say that sometimes these things happen because the company making the withdrawal does not follow through on their pre-authorization.

In the case of my toll free phone company..that has never happened before!

So not only did I not have to pay overdraft fees equal to about half my pay for the day (I made $85 including extra pay for some windows she wanted me to do inside the house) but the overdraft itself had disappeared!!

Incredible! Maybe not an outright and explicit miracle but pretty close if you ask me .

I went out of that bank quite astounded and eager to get to the Buffet but in my eagerness I neglected to deposit money into my account to cover the amount about to be deducted by my phone company! So...I had to walk back to deposit some in.

Now note that I wanted to get to the buffet by about 3:15 PM so that I could take advantage of paying a lunch time price but start eating their better food at 3:30 PM (their dinner time). This buffet officially allows that and I wanted to get some real meat into me.

After depositing $20 I headed back to the bus stop, took the bus, and got to the Buffet at about 3:00 PM. On the way in I met a homeless friend who is a really neat guy (he doesn't drink, smoke, cheat, or steal and just doesn't get into paying $1000 dollars to live under some drywall anymore than I do). We talked some and I had a chance to share some of God's dealing with me with him...which he found quite interesting. I even offered him $5 as a way of sharing the blessing that God had blessed me with but, he refused encouraging me to give it away to someone else that was in greater need! Imagine that! He is to be sure in much better shape, financially, than I am but please take note of the fact that he is homeless (or was until he started sleeping in a van a week or two ago). Not all homeless people are bums and vagabonds! Some actually have some measure of good values...though in his case, he has admitted to not being a Christian.

After talking with him I made it into the Buffet at 3:23 or some such. Just in time to pay the lunch price and enjoy a wonderful dinner.

I had 3 pieces of Sirloin steak, chicken cassarole, rice with chicken, mash potatoes and gravy, soup, other assorted items, coke, and two desserts along with an assortment of fudge and brownies.

A much better deal than my hominy corn and plain wheat bread that I had been muching on since yesterday night!

Unfortunately something didn't sit right with my stomach and I had to...well...use the restroom in a most pressing manner. I don't know if it was the fresh squeezed orange juice of this morning, the hominy corn of last night, or something I ate at the Buffet place. Perhaps it was the fact that I had not been eating much lately and my stomach couldn't take all the rich food I was having all of a sudden. I'll never know.

It is quite amazing to me how the Lord works through my circumstances to meet my needs as I bring my needs to Him in prayer. It's not so much that any one particular item of provision is all that amazing. It's rather the timing and how everything lines up such that my needs are ultimately met that is amazing.

Observe how a window cleaning job came along when I needed it most. That it was four blocks down the street such that I could get to it without a car. That there was a step ladder I could use there. That the owner graciously made a ride available to me (saving me time as I would probably have had to come back a second time to get all the stuff she gave me). The overdraft one day and then disappearing the next day such that I did not have to pay one penny in overdraft fees.

My landlord allowing me stay in exchange for work when I did not have the money to pay rent. My being able to get enough food to eat so as to not go hungry last night even though I had almost no money (only $2.98 to be precise).

Yes...one thing here or there could be be called coincidence (though I do not believe in such) but having such things happen to me time and time again? And again and again such that my basic needs continue to be met? That is God! The living God responding to my needs as I bring them before Him in prayer.

As I learn to walk by faith in His unseen Presence, trusting in His love and that He knows what is best or me...no matter what happens.

I feel that I should also point out that such a walk is not possible without forgiveness of my sins. A forgiveness made possible through the death of Jesus Christ. Without that forgiveness I would not have standing with God and there would be no assurance of His help at all in my time of need in view of my sins.

While I have not murdered anyone or have otherwise done things outwardly that would immediately be recognized as sin the fact is that before the holiness of God my "good" life is nothing but a filthy rag. When compared to His holy and perfect standard of right thinking and doing.

I could not possibly have a true and certain assurance of His help without forgiveness. A forgiveness He freely gives to all who will call on His name and repent of their sins.

Carlos