Normally on days I know I will be leaving the camp ground I spend time asking Yahweh Elohim to direct my paths for that day. My problem comes in being impatient in leaving so we can get it done. Any one who has a large family knows the logistics of getting everyone around and into the van; it just takes time.
When we first started going to wash clothes I went by myself and also did some grocery shopping. This takes place about twice a week. With 9 of us there are many clothes and we also have a small refrigerator, so we make two trips for groceries and clothes washing. After the first week or so, Laurie was needing time with me and space from everything. We used this time to be together. When we realized we still needed to downsize more, Laurie started going through everything we brought with us once again. This day, she changed the game plan on me and I was going to take three of the little ones with me rather than taking her. So I was waiting to get going. Now, on some previous days I had been asking Abba El for some encouragement, and He was going to do something special this laundry day. The problem was, I thought I was wasting time waiting to get going. I went to the laundry near a park, in this way the girls could play while we washed as it only takes about 30 minutes (it is cheaper to wash here and cheaper to dry at another one). I loaded the wet laundry and the girls into the van and headed to the other laundromat to get the drying done. We arrived to find a note on the door saying it was closed as the city was working on pipes somewhere. It would open in about 10 minutes. So, once again I was waiting. 10 minutes came and went and no one came to open up. I took the girls to a nearby gas station to use the bathroom. When we came back it was still closed. We ended up waiting about 40 minutes. I was just about to take the wash back to the original laundry when someone came. He told us it would still be closed for another hour. I asked if it was just the wash and if that was the case if I could dry my clothes. So that is the way it worked out. We then headed to the store to buy our groceries and some special items Laurie was needing to be able to store things better (space bags).
As we were in the store and shopping an older lady noticed the girls in skirts and commented on how nice the girls were. I told her this was 1/3 of my daughters and this started a conversation on why we are here and what we are doing and what we are going to do as Elohim leads us. We spent about 15 minutes talking and then went on our way to finish the shopping. About 10 minutes later she found us again, making the comment that she had been looking for us. She said Elohim had told her to give us something. It was all she could give at this time but she was obeying what she had been told to do. We hugged and I told her she was a blessing and Elohim would bless her for her obedience. After she left, the girls and I prayed right there in the aisle at Walmart praising Abba El and asking Him to bless this dear woman who was in obedience to Him. Our Abba El provided for our purchases that day. It was an encouragement to us and a blessing. If we had left earlier to get the laundry done, if Laurie had been with me rather than the girls, if we had not waited to dry our laundry, this set-apart (divine) appointment would have been missed completely. I need to be patient with my family.
Another appointment, another laundry day. We changed the day for doing our laundry. We were getting a later start than usual. No, I still had not learned my lesson about waiting patiently for getting going. For some reason though I woke up earlier than usual and felt the need to spend more time in prayer concerning our day. I asked that our steps be directed by Abba El as He needed them to be. I asked for wisdom in the things said and done for the day. As we were drying our clothes a couple of young men came in to do their laundry. I remember making the comment to Laurie that one of them looked a little rough. He had an eye swollen shut and a large cut under it. He had lost a front tooth. At one point he asked me if I worked there. He was having trouble getting the machine to take the money to wash his clothes. I went over to see if there was anything I could to do help. The door had not latched tightly. We took care of the problem and then the machine took his money just fine. I could smell alcohol on his breath and made the comment to Laurie that he had been drinking. As Laurie and I talked we could also hear some of what these two young men were saying. The rough looking one kept making the comment that Jesus turned the other cheek. He then went on to say but Jesus never lost a tooth. At that point I couldn't help myself and I said He may not have lost a tooth but he had his beard pulled out and he was beaten and whipped. This young man then asked what I knew about it. He pulled his chair over to where Laurie and I sat and we began to talk. He told me he had been drinking and someone hit him. He had been a veteran in Afghanistan and Iraq, he had spent a couple of years in prison. He had read the Bible in prison and was fond of Proverbs. His grandmother had warned him about the path He was on. He told me to teach him. He was in a turmoil of what natural man would do to someone who had hurt him like he had been hurt. He wanted to do what was right but he also wanted revenge. We sat and talked for about a half hour. I would ask you to pray for Markus. He knows he needs to be on the right path and how to get there. He knows what he needs to do, he knows the right way. Pray that he will be willing to change his lifestyle. I prayed with him and for him there at the laundry.
So, what appointments does Abba El have for you? Are you willing to make your day His day? We are learning to cover our days in prayer and watch and wait (the hard part) for joining Abba's work. Not asking what Abba can do for us but how we can join Him in the work that He is doing around us.
As you pray and bathe your days in prayer to join Abba in His work send us a note telling us how He is using you to minister to those around you.
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