Adam and I Camping

This story is about the love of our great and merciful God.  We were living in El Paso, about the year 2000.  Krista had received a scholarship to attend a medical mission conference in Pennsylvania.  She was flying out of Albuquerque, New Mexico, which was about a 2 ½ hour drive from El Paso.  Now Adam at that time was almost 16.  Not an easy time for most young men.  I felt I needed to spend some good father/son time with him.  I thought going camping would be great – just the two of us.  El Paso was not a “camping” kind of place (more of a “motorhome” kind of place).  Since I needed to drive my daughter to Albuquerque, I thought that was a good place Adam and I could go camping – in the mountains.  They had some great hiking trails there too.  Although camping was probably the least expensive thing to do, I just couldn’t afford it.  Krista needed to be at the airport in five days.  So I did what we always did when we needed something, I went to the Lord.  In my prayer, I said, “Lord, I know this is not a critical need, it’s a want.  But Lord, if you could just provide $50.  That would be enough to camp out for a couple nights.  I feel it would be a good thing for both Adam and I. Thank You Lord, for what You are going to do”.
Three days later, a check came in the mail.  A check for $90!  What a blessing!  Thankyou Lord for answering a prayer that was a want, not a need.  But The Lord, as He likes to do, made it very clear that the check was put there by HIM.  We had been living in Texas for two years.  That check was a property tax refund from Minnesota that was a year late.  Ha ha!  God’s perfect timing!  What a blessing!  We camped, we sat by the fire, we hiked a lot, and we even had extra money to go out for several meals.  God not only blessed us with the money we needed for camping, He also gave us extra money just because He loved us!  That time with my son was exactly what we needed!  Thank you Lord!  You are a good God who loves to give blessings!!

God’s Lesson Here

I asked God for help because I could see I needed His help with my son.  He listened.  He delivered.  That’s what my Good God does!  My prayer here was not about a need.  God can and will bless wants also, just because he loves you!  And when He answers prayer, you need to acknowledge Him – and He wants that so you don’t forget where blessings come from… not some, not most, but ALL blessings come from God!
Never allow a problem that shows up at the end of a day, to remove all memory of the blessings God gave you throughout that day!  Appreciate our God – He is SO good!