Providence

this is more for me than anyone else.

I was looking through my blog and realized I hadn't posted this, and that I need to be reminded of God's providence from time to time, so I want to document it:

I got off of the Max in Oregon City, determined to find my way home via bus but also had an urgent need to go to the mall I was dropped off at. I don't like malls, generally. Shopping is my least favorite activity (seriously. I'd rather milk a cow.), but for some reason I NEEDED to go to the mall. I went into the ladies room and heard someone crying outside the stall. I went to wash my hands, and I met Avery, a young girl, crying and washing her face in the sink. She asked if I was from Oregon and I said no.

Turns out, she'd been stranded in the mall by her boyfriend. They both lived about an hour away. Through talking to her, I found she'd been on meth for 6 years, had decided she was over it, and her and her boyfriend went to rehab in Portland. When they were done detoxing and released from the hospital, he went to find more meth. She told him that she was done with it, he said he wasn't, called her a b*tch, and drove away. Leaving her stranded, with no money, no way to get home, no clue of how to get home, and in a really vulnerable state.

I sat with her for about an hour, looked up bus/train routes to her home, called my brother to get a better handle on public transport, and just listened. She kept telling me she'd never had anyone be so nice to her--which was disheartening. To me, this is what people should just Do. So, we found her a bus and a train to her home town. I gave her my bus pass and $10 (it was a 6 hour trip, I figured she'd be hungry at some point). When I heard from her, she was home and happy. We've kept in touch, and she's ditched the crappy boyfriend and is in long-term rehab and seems happy.

Ten bucks was a lot for me, at the time. As was the bus pass. But what a great thing to contribute to! While I was waiting for my ride home, I wandered over to a local Mexican food joint. I was super hungry. I sat at the bar, not wanting to sit by myself in a restaurant about dinner time. Immediately, the guy next to me started chatting me up. Ended up that he shared his dinner with me, offered me a job that I didn't take, and generally we had a nice friendly time. And? I got steak. Yummy. I tried to refuse, but he insisted. Hard.

Then, I told him I'd just moved here and had no job, etc. He pulled out a huge wad of bills, took out $20, and set it in front of me. I thanked him but declined. He made such a scene that I realized it was better to just take the money. Humbling, for sure. I tried to hand it back to him several times but he got to the point that he was angry, so I took it. With much thanks. He made so money, he told me, that he would rather I have it.

So, God doubled my investment. I've given money before that never came back to me, which is fine. It's nice to have a reminder that God repays us for what we invest, though.

I wanted to remind myself of that.