Just Suck Carpet
Ten years ago I was flying high as a young college graduate excited to take on the world of broadcasting and prove my worth in television. Needless to say, I hated my first job out of college and got tired of being paid a low hourly wage while working 80-90 hours a week. I quite my first job and got hired in the media department at a new company. I felt like it was the right time to transition into a more friendly environment with better pay, but the only problem was that I would not get paid for a month between ending my old job and starting my new one. My bank account and gas tank began running low after the third week at my new job and I began to fear that I wouldn’t make it before getting my first paycheck from my new job.
One day I got home from my new job, walked into my apartment straight for my bedroom and fell on the floor in tears. How am I going to make it? I only have $100 left to my name and I have $600-worth of bills due this week? The questions and numbers kept spinning in my head making me nauseous. My first reaction would usually be to call my mom and ask for money, but I felt like this was an opportunity to trust God and not fret. So, I laid flat on my stomach, smelled the carpet beneath my nose, and cried out to God. God, please help me pay my bills. I need Your help.
That evening I went to a volunteer meeting at my church and while we were wrapping up at the end, an older woman came over to me and said, “Jennifer, I know this sounds quite random but I think God wants me to give you this.” She grabbed my hand and placed a check in it for $200 and a twenty-dollar bill. “The check is for whatever you need right now and the cash is for gas money.” Tears welled up in my eyes as I hugged her and thanked her repeatedly for her unexpected kindness.
I drove home from church in awe of God’s kindness and love, but my weak faith still couldn’t help but think of the $400 I still needed to pay my other bills.
The next morning I drove to my new job and the phone rang at my desk. It was a secretary from my former job who said there was an envelope at their office for me. So, I drove over to my old job during my lunch break, chatted for a few seconds with former co-workers, and hopped back into my car. Opening the envelope, my eyes widened as I saw a check written out to me for $200. “Okay God, You’re starting to get my attention.”
Later that day, I drove over to my friend’s apartment and picked her up to go to the mall. She didn’t have a car and needed to buy a few things, so I obliged her and it was nice to forget my worries for a few hours while window-shopping. As we pulled up to her apartment, she asked me how my new job was going and I told her it was a much better environment and a great team of people. Before I could finish my sentence, she reached into her purse and pulled out a check for $200 and said, “Jen, I can’t tell you how much I appreciate the many times you have picked me up and helped me get around town. I know you were only doing it out of the kindness of your heart, but I felt like God wanted me to bless you with this money today.” I was dumbfounded. My jaw dropped and tears gushed down my cheeks. I didn’t know what to say, but after a few awkward minutes I finally reached over and hugged her. “Thank you, dear friend. You’ll never know how much this means to me.”
You may call it coincidence or karma, but I truly believe God helped me to learn a very powerful lesson from this miracle. Not only did He provide the money I needed to pay my bills, but He also gave me the chance to receive unexpected, gracious gifts from people around me opening the doors for them to be blessed as givers. Sometimes, we want to polish our “Good Samaritan” badges by constantly giving and showing how benevolent we are towards people, but sometimes it’s also good to receive and be humbled by the kindness of others. We need to remember that we cannot live this life without the kindness of people and God. When we become too self-sufficient, then we have no need for a loving God or His loving creation.
Finally, this miracle story helped me to know God’s character and know His heart even more than I did before. He is a faithful, trustworthy, kind, loving, gracious, merciful, and always wanting to draw us closer to Him in a personal, daily relationship. I needed to learn, once again, that my Heavenly Father loves me beyond comprehension and wants to be part of every moment in my day.
So, the next time we feel like we’re at the end of our rope maybe we should lay down our cares, pray for miracles and suck carpet.
