The Eye in the Hurricane

So, yeah. Florida. Hurricane season. Deployed husband. Three kids. No worries. I've got this. I mean, it looks like it's going to be nothing more than a glorified thunderstorm and if the power goes out I have all these flashlights around the house. That work. Right?

Wrong. "Kids...get in the car. We're going to Wal-Mart."

The thing is, I had called around to every store in the area asking about flashlights, LED lanterns and the like and everyone seemed to be out. We had been out shopping for the storm several days before and the lanterns were all gone. At Target? Gone. At Home Depot? Gone. But there had been a few lingering flashlights left at Wal-Mart. So maybe, just maybe...

I loaded the two bigger kids into the back of the rickety shopping cart, attached the drooling, giggling baby to myself, and headed through the store...anxious, worried. I told the kids we probably should pray that there is a flashlight left just for us. We'd need it if our power went out. Mommy doesn't know how to make fire by rubbing two sticks together, kids. Sorry. That's Daddy's area. Immediately, my 2 year old, in the sweetest, most sincere display of child-like faith, closed his eyes tightly, folded his little hands and said, "Dear Jesus, please give us a flashlight for the hurricane. Amen."

That was sweet. I mean, that was REALLY sweet. Man, he's cute. And now I need to start mentally preparing him for the fact that sometimes God says "no."

Sure enough, as we got to the camping gear aisle it was apparent. Every imaginable device that emits light, save one plastic Buzz Lightyear flashlight the size of my thumb and some thing that you can strap onto your head in case you should be planning a spelunking trip anytime soon, was gone. Shoulders drop. Long sigh. What now? It's starting to rain.

As I stood there contemplating the negative consequences of being "me" (disorganized, unprepared, reigning queen of "winging it,") I heard a man's voice say, "Do you need a flashlight?"

"Um...actually, yes. But they're all gone. Because I'm lame and decided to wait until the last second to try and buy one. Do you know of a store where I can still get one? Because these kids are definitely going to tell their Dad about it if we are living in utter darkness." 

Now, let me stop here to say I do believe sometimes God sends angels who look like people and talk like people and act like people and even wear t-shirts that say "You look like I could use a beer" to remind you that He is right there with you in the chaos. In retrospect, I'm quite certain this was exactly what went down.

He went on to say that he had three flashlights in his car that he had just bought down the road. He would go out to his car and bring me two of them, because I had three kids and he understood what it was like to be a parent.

Is this guy for real? He's going to go out to his car? In the rain? Bring us brand new flashlights that he had purchased right before this looming hurricane and just GIVE THEM to us? Two of his three? Perfect strangers? He headed for the door and I was sure that would be the end of it. We lingered a little while, kids contemplating their future camping trips with Daddy, me wondering how long a reasonable person would wait there before realizing that it had been too good to be true. And then he was back, flashlights in hand.

The transaction was such an awesome, unusual, timely display of generosity, selflessness, compassion, goodness. I thanked him profusely, and asked if we could pay him. "No." I told him we had just gotten done praying for a flashlight, he had been our answer to prayer, thanking him again. And off he went, probably thinking we were a little weird, probably never to be seen again.

We drove home, talking the entire way about how God answers us in ways that leave it impossible to do anything but acknowledge that it had been Him, and why. Because it brings Him glory. Not only had that man (I sincerely wish I had asked for his name) saved the day in regards to the flashlights we so desperately needed, he had also provided the perfect example to my kids of God's interest in even the smallest concerns in our lives. The God they had prayed to had shown Himself to them in a real and practical way. He had gone above and beyond. Not one flashlight, but two. Free. From a stranger. And they knew it was Him.

Matthew 7:11 says, "If you, then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give good gifts to those who ask him!" We asked. He answered in the affirmative. Wow.

Maybe tomorrow His answer will be "no." And you know what? When that happens we will know He is just as good, just as loving, just as present. Our daily experiences with Him, the intimacy we've been building with Him, have shown us time and time again that He knows more about us than we do. And He gives us what we long for, whether we know we're longing for it or not.

Light? From a flashlight? How short-sighted we can be in our own needs. Thank God He knows the true longing of our hearts, and provides the sort of light that will never require new batteries.