God’s Perfect Plan

Since February I’ve been running ideas around in my head about how I will get to Minnesota. I have come up with a lot of different plans. I’ve researched them all…compared gas costs, vehicle costs, time, everything I could think of. None of my plans seemed just right, none of them gave me peace. As time was narrowing down and it was getting closer to May, I was trying harder to solidify something, but it still wasn’t coming together.

I don’t have a lot of experience in fasting before the Lord, I’ve only done it one other time for about a day. For some reason though, even though I still don’t totally understand fasting, I really felt God was laying it on my heart to do it (and He confirmed that in a few different ways, which was neat). So then I started planning again…when the food in the fridge would be gone, what my schedule was, etc, and decided to start on the next Wednesday. Well, God had other plans. It was Saturday night and I was going to read a book and enjoy my chai tea, but before my hand got to the book to pick it up, something (God) stopped me in mid air. I had the thought that praying was a better idea, so I went with that. As I was praying about Sean and the move, I felt this heavy weight on my chest, and then my favorite chai tea started to repulse me. I had the feeling that the Holy Spirit was telling me that Wednesday was not the day to start fasting, now was the time. So I agreed and prayed for God to help me through it, and instantly the weight was lifted off my chest and I felt my stomach tighten up, like God was opening my heart and closing my stomach. I was flooded with gratitude and thankfulness to my Father and I just kept praising and praising Him, it was very neat! Instead of crying out in desperate need, I was crying out in continuous praise! I also got the thought right away that God knew my plans, and I wasted a lot of time trying to plan and figure it out, instead of totally relying on Him to tell me. I was of course praying, but apparently not listening too hard, oops!

Trusting my Father as my sole support to live (I was doing a water fast), I think just put me in such a humble frame of mind and heart. I couldn’t help but trust Him with everything, because for those four days He was all I had to thrive on! It was amazing how He blessed me in my obedience, I was hungry and weak at times, but I still didn’t want food (even when I was cooking for my family). I felt so close to Him as I continued to rely on Him and ask for guidance and wisdom in my move (and of course I prayed for Sean the whole time too, and I also trust that God is working there!).

Then on Tuesday a friend was over for lunch and she mentioned a horse trailer that was for sale. I told her I had no way to pull it (I had researched rental pickups and moving trucks). Then I believe that God led me to check Uhaul again. I had asked so many places if I could tow, with ‘no’s’ all around, that I think I also assumed Uhaul was a no. I called that night and they said, yep, I could tow a horse trailer no problem! The only thing was that the other rental trucks were running around $385 and the Uhaul truck was $800! So I asked about that and the guy said he would see if he could match the price for the 10ft truck. He came back on and said he could only get it down to $520 but I could call the regional office in the morning and they may be able to do better. After that, I had the idea that Mom could fly down to drive home with me. Since I was going to have 2 horses, 2 dogs, 5 cats and a three year old, I thought that help might not be a bad idea! The 10 ft truck that I had reserved only had two seats though, so I would need a bigger truck (and I barely have any stuff to haul back – I think we may sleep in the back…in beds, lol!). I prayed and prayed that night, that if this plan truly was from the Lord, that He would work out the Uhaul to match the rate so I could afford it, and that He would just make everything work out and fall into place. So before I called Uhaul in the morning, I checked Budget again to see how much their 14ft truck was, it was $364, which was cheaper than the 10ft one. I called and talked to the Uhaul woman, told her I was calling about getting a price match, but that I also wanted a bigger truck (because it had three seats). She came back on the line and told me she could give me the 14ft truck for $364! Praise the Lord! (Later when I called to get my reservation emailed to me, right when the lady that helped me saw my rate, she exclaimed, “Wow! You got a great rate!“) So the truck was scheduled with a price that was within my budget.

Then on to the airplane ticket for mom…we decided on May 22nd so she could go to our church twice while she was here, and I looked it up, it was only $105! Every other date around that day was around $170. That was another conformation to me that the Lord was the one running the show!

The last step in planning was the horse trailer. I drove all around looking for that one that my friend told me about, but it was gone. I found one in Apex, about 1 hour away, it looked sturdy, like it could make it to MN, so I borrowed a truck and went to buy it. It was a little small, so I asked the girl if I could bring it back if my horses didn’t fit, she agreed. I got it back, tried the horses and the smaller of the two didn’t even fit, she was too wide! I was so bummed…the first hitch in the plans, and I had to drive another 2 hours round trip to return it! I again went into ‘Jenni planning mode’ and searched high and low for trailers on the internet. I finally decided I’d have to head to Virginia because there were some available there, and none near home. I was going to go there on Wednesday. On Monday Mom called to see if we could go to the old house to see if there was any mail there for her, because she thought she had changed her address with one place and it didn’t seem to go through. I was a little embarrassed since we’d already been there a few times to get mail, and it has been almost a year since we moved, but of course I went. I had a note ready to stick to their door incase they weren’t home (sort of what I was hoping), but they were. As I pulled in, I saw a two horse trailer…and then two horses, I thought, bummer, I guess they probably use the trailer. I talked with the nice woman for a little while, she offered that I could come and ride anytime on the trails there, I told her that I didn’t have a trailer, but I was actually looking for one to move my horses to MN. She said, “Really? Well I have one that I don’t really need, do you want to look at it?” Of course I did! I told her my dilemma, how all of the trailers in my price range ($1000) were already sold by the time I contacted them, and I was going to head to Virginia to shop. She told me that she had bought it to haul her two horses from Texas to NC the previous year, and she hadn’t used it since. It looked good (and much bigger!) so I told her all I had was $1000, would she take it? She said, “How about $800?” How’s that for a deal?! J So I got another truck and went to pick it up (less than 10 minutes from home this time!) that afternoon. I put the horses in and they fit perfectly, and the cats will fit perfectly in the big tack storage area too (which is good because that‘s the only place available for them to ride!)! The Lord knew just where my trailer was sitting, he just needed to get me there, and it took a messed up change of address, but hey, He can use anything for good right!? That was the last piece and the one that showed me God’s all knowing goodness the most…I was in awe! J He knows it all right down to the last detail, and how to accomplish His plan. I know this, but it is way cool to experience it first hand in such an obvious way! And one more side note…this plan of His is going to be cheaper than any of them that I had thought up…but of course that’s how He did it, because His way is always best! J

Now we are just trusting Him for the money to send us on our way, that is the last step, and after all that He has shown me and provided, I have no doubt that He also has an end in mind to accomplish that! What a God we serve, He is greater than words and though my love grows everyday, I will never be able to love him enough!

Just an update…it’s been 5 days since I posted this and yesterday God blessed me with a surprise gift of $700 towards my move!  Totally out of the blue and unexpected!  We’ve been praying and He just keeps answering so quickly!  PRAISE THE LORD!!   It’s so fun to be in the center of His will, in obediance and trust!

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Tags: Fasting, God, Prayer, Trust