Faith, a random hand click, and a phone call.

I am a big believer in miracles. I believe that they're all around us, just waiting for us to believe them to life, acknowledge them, give them a chance, trust them. . .

I'm also a believer that God answers all prayers; sometimes quickly, sometimes not, sometimes how we plan, usually not. . .  However, lately a lot of my prayers from the past few years and months are in the process of being answered, in unexpected but totally awesome ways. I've had to experience a whole lot of heartache before God could answer some of my prayers, like He has just been waiting until I'm ready to open up my heart and give up my will for His. But once I softened my heart and humbly let Him lead, beautiful things have happened. Beautiful things are happening, right now! Everywhere around me! Right this minute: beauty!

Today I witnessed an everyday miracle. A beautiful, valuable, precious, everyday miracle, that reminded me how painfully aware God is of me, always.

For the past two months I have been looking at plane tickets for my upcoming trip to Uganda. I've been stalking the flight sites, eagerly awaiting any small price drop. Last week they were at an all-time low, but I decided to wait. Unfortunately, this week, the prices jumped $200. Bummer.

Well, today was the day I had decided that I would purchase. I decided on Monday night that Tuesday, March 25th, 2014 would be the day I would buy my ticket to Uganda, and secure a dream I've anxiously chased for years. Surreal is a huge understatement. Prices were still high when I closed my laptop and slipped into my bed late Monday night, but my hopes were even higher, and my faith was secure. Just before my eyes slipped shut, I prayed, asking God to provide a way for me to get where He needs me, as inexpensively as possible. "Dear God, please help me find the cheapest flight possible. . ." That was the thought heavy on my mind and in my heart as I nodded off to sleep.

When I awoke, I eagerly opened the computer and pulled up some airline sites I had been stalking the night before. Like a little kid on Christmas morning, I was sure I would get all I had asked for. However, I soon saw that prices hadn't budged a buck.

I was about to forlornly resolve myself to purchasing a $1700 flight when I suddenly looked up from my computer screen, for reasons I am still uncertain. But the sudden jerk of my head also caused a sudden jerk of my hand, which caused a random clicking of the mouse on a random advertisement in an obscure location on the webpage. When I finally looked back down after a few seconds, this is what I saw:

Discounted airfare for people going on service trips, specifically those flying into Entebbe. HEY. . . wait a minute. . . THAT'S ME!!

I had actually contacted this company back in February, but at that time, their discounts were not substantial. So, this time around, I didn't really think to contact them again. I don't believe in coincidence though, so I decided to call the number at the top of the screen, just to see what they had to offer this time.

After a few minutes, I was on the phone with Valeri, a very kind woman with a beautiful, thick accent. After explaining my desired travel plans, she found me a round-trip flight out of Los Angeles, through Amsterdam and Kigali, into Entebbe.
Total cost: just over $1200.

My eyes about popped out of their sockets, and my jaw almost fell off its hinge. What did she just say?
Yep, five-hundred bucks cheaper than I had planned on ten minutes earlier. My mind immediately went to my prayers the past few days, and especially the night before. "Dear God, please help me find the cheapest flight possible. . . "

And all it took was some faith, a random hand click, and a phone call.

All things are possible to them that believeth. 



(PS: This is my 222nd post. Coincidence? I think not. . . )
(PPS: 2, 22, or any combination of 2s are my lucky numbas :)