I don’t know how she got our number, but a young homeless mother messaged us asking for work to earn 4 days’ rent money for the motel room she and her son were sleeping in. She’d spent what she could of her fast-food paycheck buying supplies for the new school year; now her biggest concern was the possibility of having to sleep on the street his first week of school.

So we went to meet her and hear her story. She lived in Room #2.

We’re surrounded by loving Christians. Any time we encounter needs too big for us, we simply ask our community for help. I’ve asked them for coats and come home to contractor bags full of nice winter coats lining our carport wall. I’ve asked for food, and couldn’t park my car for the donations of food items left by our door—not the cheap stuff, the good stuff.

They do it because God is love.

 

And God is able to bless you abundantly, so that in all things at all times, having all that you need, you will be able to bless others.

~ 2 Corinthians 9:8

 

So I sent out a request for odd jobs for the young mama into the abyss of social media, and waited. Within no time, souls were responding with the care and kindness of Jesus’ people. They offered small jobs, cash, prospects for work, even clothes and school supplies.

Give what you’ve decided in your heart to give, not reluctantly or feeling pressured, for God loves a cheerful giver.

~2 Corinthians 9:7

 

But then a message came to my phone from a number I didn’t recognize. It was a Christian friend I haven’t seen in ages.

The message said, Sally Anne, this is… and he told me his name.

Then he shared with me that when he was a child, he and his mama had been homeless, living in a motel, desperately needing somebody to help.

He said, I can relate all too well. I’d like to pay the entire amount, and no one needs to know where the money came from.

…but God intended it all for good. He brought me to this position so I could save the lives of many people.

~ Genesis 50:20

 

He asked for the address where he should go to pay the rent, so I texted it to him…

The cursor on my phone blinked a few times as I waited for his reply, and then came these words: That’s where my mom and I lived.

I became very still, paralyzed with awe.

He was in tears.

There are moments in life when you realize you’ve stumbled into the Presence of something so much bigger than your little world, your little trying. I had clumsily tripped right through Life’s backstage curtain and got to witness God the Father blessing one of His sons, using something awful and turning it into something good…

Redeeming something.

 

…And we know that for those who love God, all things work together for good, for those who are called according to His purpose.

~ Romans 8:28

 

But my friend didn’t pay for four nights’ rent like he said he would.

He paid for five.

When I heard back from the young mother, who had no idea any of this was happening while she was at work that day, her message said, I just got home. The landlord said my rent’s been paid for five whole nights! Do you know anything about this?

Why yes, yes I do.

 

These are just the beginning of all that God does, merely a whisper of His power.

~ Job 26:14