In my freshman year of college, I got into a car wreck on my way home from school. Someone sped through their red light while I was turning left, and hit my front passenger headlight hard enough to make my car (that poor old Honda Accord… I miss her) do a 180. 

I was terrified, a little dazed from the impact, and I was all alone in the dark on a cold February evening the night before Valentine’s Day. 

The car that hit me sped away and immediately I saw cop car lights flick on in pursuit. Another car pulled up next to me, and a kind man offered to let me sit in his car to stay warm while I waited for my mom and the police to arrive. I did exactly what my parents warned me not to do and I got in that stranger’s car. He offered me a cup of coffee he’d just picked up from Starbucks. 

At first I refused, because let’s be real, the number one lesson all women learn is not to accept beverages from strange men. 

But through the language barrier we had, he managed to say, “I didn’t do anything to it.” 

I had to laugh that he read my mind, and his kindness warmed my heart. I sat there, shaking in his car from shock and chill, and called my dad and burst into tears when I told him I totaled the car. 

“Like, totaled totaled? Or insurance totaled?” He asked, holding onto hope. 

I looked in the sideview mirror of this stranger’s car at the mangled mess behind me. 

“Totaled totaled.” 

Then I took a sip of the coffee. It was a caramel latte. My favorite. 

Here’s the thing: I didn’t ask for a car wreck. But I also didn’t ask for a cop to be at the intersection at the exact time I needed him. I didn’t ask for a kind stranger to let me warm up in his car. And I certainly didn’t think to request my favorite latte to be hand delivered to me through this experience. 

But God provided. He gave me things I didn’t think to ask for. Good things, like protection and justice and help.

Just last week, I was invited to dinner at the home of an old family friend. At the time of my invite, I was feeling social. At the time of the dinner, I was feeling decidedly anti-social after a long day at work. On the way out the door I texted my best friend, “I just want to eat ice cream and cry.” 

Two hours later, my kind hosts asked if I wanted ice cream for dessert. I almost cried. 

We so quickly complain about the struggles or the suffering. “I didn’t ask for this!” we say, shaking our fists at the sky. 

But did you ask for other things? Do you feel fully reliant on your Lord? Do you trust in his providence and good will for you? Do you bring him even the menial requests? You would have texted your best friend about them, so why not share them with the creator of the universe? 

Jesus is so generous, so wonderfully thoughtful in his providence, so intentional with his love. Imagine, with all that forethought on his part, how much he would love to include you in his plans via prayer? Don’t you think that the very person that taught us to pray for our daily bread would love to hear you ask? 

I was humbled that I didn’t even think to ask for ice cream and he still provided out of his overwhelming love. Perhaps, we could all stand to think a bit more about how we pray, and what we bring to Jesus. Perhaps, if you’re struggling, you lay it at his feet. Perhaps, if you are craving something, you ask him to satisfy your desire. 

And perhaps, you’ll be amazed when you see just how good he really is.