It is good that we are afflicted . . .

I think I’ve had insomnia only probably three or four times in my entire life. And tonight would be the night. Of course. My law school friend, Dr. Doug (M.D.) told me that a person wakes up more restful if they sleep in 90 minute intervals because that’s the natural human sleep cycle. Since he went to med school I figure he knows what he’s talking about. So, that means, if I have to get up at 4:30 AM, that I need to go to bed at either midnight or 1:30. Heck - maybe I’ll make it until 3:00.

While I’m awake, I thought I’d share with you an experience I had tonight. It was incredible. I’m typically not a weepy charismatic type of Christian (not that there’s anything wrong with that – we’re supposed to love God with our heart, soul, and mind) but tonight I had a gripping experience. Kevin took me to Old Navy to buy a few items. After gathering the items I needed, we headed to check out and I noticed that my purse was missing. I think the last time I misplaced my purse was ten years ago!! (Insomnia and losing my purse – all in one night! Wow.) I checked the fitting room. I retraced every step I’d taken in the entire store. A lot of the merchandise was in disarray because of the Memorial Day weekend sales. The store was also very busy. I was distressed after searching long and hard to have no successful results. I remembered making a purchase earlier that evening at another store. That was the last time I remembered having my purse with me. We called that store and they didn’t have it. The plot thickens . . . normally I don’t carry much cash on me. I’ve found that, when I carry cash, I’m more likely to spend it! So, one day, I got smart and stopped carrying it altogether. Well, I just happened to have a bunch of cash with me tonight because I had our grocery money for the next several weeks in my wallet, along with other personal spending cash. When we still couldn’t find my purse, Kevin went to check the car one more time (we had already checked it two other times). It was almost that, if by checking all the old places again and again, we could WILL my purse to magically appear. I felt sick to my stomach at losing all that cash. You know the feeling of having misplaced something and feeling unsettled? I stood in the middle of that Old Navy store and cried out to God – almost audibly. I felt that God was asking me if I had enough faith (even the amount of a mustard seed). I felt myself instinctively become doubtful. I prayed that God would give me the faith that I didn’t have. Suddenly I felt a strong force pushing me to walk down an aisle that both Kevin and I had already searched several times. I walked straight toward the aisle and . . . low and behold . . . my purse was sitting there in plain view. I felt so strongly that God Himself was testing my faith tonight and that he CLEARLY answered my prayer immediately after I cried out to Him. I grabbed my purse and ran back to a clerk whom I had spoken with moments earlier about my loss. Before I knew what I was saying, I said: “I just want to let you know something. I am a Christian. I prayed that God would show me where this purse was. And He DID.” The lady looked at me like I was a nutcase. But, you know what? I didn’t care. I think that was the first time I’ve ever walked up to someone and, without planning on it, blurted out: I AM A CHRISTIAN. Honestly, though, I wanted God to get all the glory for the rescue of that stupid little purse. It may seem like a small thing. But the God we serve is someone who cares about all of the details of our lives. Tonight was a great reminder of that.

And now, I think I will try to go back to bed. Kevin came in the room and said he couldn’t sleep since I left. He’s sitting on the floor doing crossword puzzles as I type. I need to go now so I can put my baby to bed. ;)