favor i didn't ask for

Proverbs 8: 34 Blessed is the man who listens to me, watching daily at my doors, waiting at my doorway.
35 For whoever finds me finds life and receives favor from the LORD.


“now here are your instructions...”

just when my soul is so beaten down and tired... just when i feel that i’ve messed up so much that God should withdraw His grace from me... He does something like this...

i didn’t ask Him to show me His love, because i already knew He loved me... i didn’t ask Him to show me His compassion, because it’s already so evident... and so He showed me His favor- despite all the stuff i’m enduring, and the confusion, and the fits of hopelessness, He shows me something that i wasn’t even looking for... His true unending favor...

‘how did He do it?’, you ask...

TIA brought me to the store...

“you are to pick out an ENTIRE outfit that you like... don’t ask me anything, don’t say anything to me... just find something you really really want... and DON’T look at any price tags...”

i looked at a few...

after a round or two around the store, i realized that i have no idea how to shop for stuff i like... i usually look at the price tags first and limit my choices from there... that usually does most of the work for me...

so she helped me pick out an outfit... a skirt, two shirts and a sweater... along with two pairs of earrings and a necklace...

i’m not used to having nice clothes... half of my stuff was given to me cuz other people didn’t want it anymore...

she made me leave the store while she paid, so that i wouldn’t get worried about how much she was spending... she even went to the trouble of getting gift receipts...

she forgot to remove the tags though... after dropping her off, i checked the bags and roughly totaled all she bought me today...

it was over $100 worth of clothes...

the thing is... my soul was so beaten that i could barely speak the whole time... and i could barely show her the proper gratitude... if she could only see how much i truly appreciated this... appreciate isn’t even a strong enough word... see, it doesn’t surprise me that God would do such a thing... but for TIA to be obedient and humble enough to do this... i just pray for the day when i can bless others in even greater measure...