Coincidences, God-incidences and The Water of Life

Psalm 105 verse 3 warns: Keep your eyes open for God, watch for His works; be alert for signs of His presence.

The Week that Was
These past couple of weeks have been somewhat special. In amongst many concerns that sought and fought for my attention, I felt The Almighty God nudging me to calm down, and reassuring me that He is with me.

The warming thing has been this: He consistently gave comfort even on the most minor issues, impressing on me that even on the seemingly trivial points, He makes room for us. It's been heart-warming.

Consider the ravens
Luke 12:23-25: Life is more than food, and the body more than clothes. Consider the ravens: They do not sow or reap, they have no storeroom or barn; yet God feeds them. And how much more valuable you are than birds! Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to his life

On using water judiciously
I had guests last weekend from London and Lagos. Fun though it was, I had to remind the guest from London that here we use water judiciously. Go easy on wastage! They left on Tuesday. On Wednesday evening after work, I dash to the shower to refresh – it gets pretty hot here. At 30 degree’s centigrade, it’s winter.

The Gym comes to the rescue
Turned on the tap. No water. Okay, forget the shower. I had bottles of mineral water in the fridge. I would use those to at least wash my face. I would need to go to the gym tomorrow morning before work and have a shower there after my work out. That would mean waking up at around 4.30, have my quiet time and leave the house by 5.45 to get to the gym by 6am when it opens.

So, tired as I was from entertaining guests over the long weekend, I packed my gym bag and considered what to wear to work the next morning so that I could also pack the outfit into my gym bag.

Lunching and praying at home
Ordinarily two to three times a week, I go home for lunch - and to pray. The plan was to go home at lunch time, give the maid some money and instruct her to start looking for a water tanker – those of you who have lived in these parts will catch my drift. I then thought of what it would cost. Honestly, after spending on guests over the last couple of days, that was an unwelcome expenditure.

Well, I never made it home at lunchtime. Work was busy on Thursday so I was stuck in the office till well after 9pm.

My very efficient bank ATM
As I got ready to leave the office, I remembered my water issue. Oh dear. The plan was to go to the ATM near home, withdraw cash and give this to the maid the next day when she comes in, for the purchase of water, when I come for lunch. Tonight, I’d use my bottles of mineral water to freshen up again and leave for the gym at 5.45am the next day so I could have a proper shower.

Tired as I was in the midst of this, when I arrived at the ATM, it was closed. I committed to close my bank account with the bank.

I then had to drive some 15 to 20 minutes to town to another ATM. Tired and hungry as I drove to town, this phrase came to mind: ‘o ye of little faith. Just go home and you may well find that water situation restored’. In my mind, I responded: “God, you know I have faith in You. I just don’t have faith in the water company.”

I drive to town, withdraw money from another ATM and drive home – tired with a capital T.

I arrive home, I turn on my tap, water gushes out.

Trust in The Lord with all your heart.