Pam Padgett - teacher
A few days ago I started my day as usual, calmly reading the blog and
meditating on a scripture that stood out to me.
But then I turned on my
computer. Immediately there was an error message saying that a cooling fan in the
computer was not working. The message included a warning that damage could be done if the computer was not shut down. The computer is only about three years
old and there have been no problems, and no signs of possible problems,
with it. It was shocking to find out that the computer could suddenly not be used. I had no way to share messages I may have. This was a big concern to me, and I prayed asking God to help me.
I spoke with a man at a computer repair place. The repair is not expensive, but a needed part would have to be ordered and it would take about a week to get the part. I checked with another computer repair place but they, also, would need to order the part.
I obviously needed to get a computer to use while this one was being repaired. Soon after praying I had realized that I needed to get a
backup computer, but I hadn't realized I would need to get one immediately.
Going from a quiet morning to suddenly needing to immediately get a
backup computer was jarring, and I continued asking God to help me and
give me wisdom in what to do.
The post office is near the computer repair place and I stopped there to
mail a package and buy stamps. While standing in line a woman I met in
a dog class more than a year ago came in the line behind me. We have
not seen each other since that class but I remembered how much this
woman enjoys dogs. We asked about each others' dogs.
Then she went on to tell me how it came about that she has her dogs.
This woman has a disease that affects her physically in multiple ways
including making it difficult for her to walk, and this disease gets
progressively worse. She said that because of her physical condition
she had not considered having a dog. But one day this woman's sister
said that she and the woman's daughter had both been praying and
believed they were shown that this woman needed a dog. This woman immediately
said she couldn't care for a dog. But her sister asked her to consider a
dog they had found. This is a small dog, doesn't shed, and doesn't
bark. It would be very easy to care for.
She reluctantly agreed to see
if it might work for her to have this dog. She found she was able to care for the dog and enjoyed having it very much.. About a week after getting the dog her niece stopped by and liked the dog and offered to take it if
the woman didn't want it, but the woman said "Oh no! This is my dog!"
Within just a week she couldn't let the dog go! Soon after this she got another dog and she enjoys each of them and
enjoys watching the dogs play together.
As she told this story it was so obvious how much help these dogs have
been to her. She didn't think she could possibly take care of a dog,
but it turned out that she was able to care for this type of dog and
they are such a joy to her.
I rejoiced as I heard this story and how this woman was helped. And it
caused me to be thankful to God and to remember HIS mercy toward us.
For the rest of the day, even while looking for and selecting a backup
computer, I was so aware of God's help and mercy toward us. This calmed
me greatly. Later I remembered having prayed asking God to help
me with all of this, and realized I had been given the exact help I
needed to calm me and direct my thoughts to God.
I also found a computer that is working out well. Instead of getting a laptop as I had assumed, as I prayed my attention kept being drawn to a notebook computer. This is something I had never even thought of, but which is working very well as a backup computer for what I need.