Hello, Kitty!!

God always demands obedience. But the obedience is always for our benefit and His glory. Some times God asks His people to step into the raging rivers before they will part, to walk around the wall 13 times before it will fall, to wait for years for the fulfillment of the promise of a baby, or to get rid of their pants. Okay, so that last one is not in the Bible, that one's from my life. 

Back story: when I left Costa Rica, I knew I couldn't take everything I had brought with me. I wanted to donate things to the store. Many of my clothes were now full of paint and had faded from being line dried and just needed to retire. Plus, let's be honest, I wanted room in my suitcase for coffee and Lizano sauce. I had been a faithful steward of my toiletries: body wash with one shower left in the bottle, contact cleaner solution gone two weeks pre-flight, last squirt of toothpaste the morning of departure. As I was deciding what stayed and what would go with me, I had frequent running dialogue with Jesus..."Should I take this or just leave it?" He would usually tell me one way or the other. To make what could potentially be a very long story short, Jesus told me I had to leave my favorite jeans. They were now covered in pant and frayed along the edges, but they were still my favorites. Six years of memories, you have no idea what those jeans have seen!! I also had to throw out the slippers my dad had given me. They were beyond washing. But I had to go on faith that Jesus knew what He was talking about.

Fast forward: I am back stateside and re-integrating into North American life. But now I am without a favorite pair of jeans, most of my toiletries, and slippers to keep my feet warm in a chilly Michigan fall. (OK, it only feel chilly to me because I am no longer living 4 inches from the sun). My feet had not warmed up since disembarking in Detroit. I asked Jesus to replace what He asked me to get rid of. 

Tuesday morning I knew I would be in town and close to stores. I asked Jesus specifically for a new favorite pair of jeans for under $20...a pair that fit perfect on try on, in the color and cut of my favorite jeans that I left in the Rica...and a pair of slippers for $4. As I was driving I asked Jesus where I should find those items. I needed to change my address and ran to the Secretary of State, which happens to be in a mall.There is an Old Navy there and I felt Jesus nudge me in that direction. Old Navy?!??! I NEVER find jeans at Old Navy!! They are way too short and never fit right. Their tags marked "tall" LIE!!! I don't own a single pair of Old Navy pants. But okay, Jesus, I will trust you. As I was perusing the clearance racks, I came across a pair of jeans in my size that had "long" marked on the tag. I grabbed them and prayed. As I pulled them on, THEY FIT PERFECT!!! They were the color and cut of my favorite jeans AND they hit the floor!!! When I checked out the clerk told me I was very lucky to find these jeans. They were an online return that they don't carry in the store. They only carry "longs" (which are legitly long) online. I told the guy that I prayed for those jeans. AND they were only $17!!! CRAZY!!

Now for the slippers. Again, I asked Jesus where I should go. Target. Okay. I like Target. I was on the hunt. I knew my budget for slippers was $4. I mean, slippers for $4 is almost unheard of. They are usually at least $10-25. That would HAVE to be God. Slipping into the sleepwear section, the end cap caught my eye. There were three pairs of slippers hanging on an end rack. But they were Hello, Kitty. Sparkly. Puffy. Hello, Kitty slippers. They looked small, but I held my breath. I pulled them off the rack and they were my size (ladies 10). Surely not. I looked at the price tag. Yup. You guessed it. The Hello, Kitty slippers were $4!!! NO WAY!!! But, Jesus!!! Hello, Kitty?!?!? How old am I???!? Surely not. I looked at all the other end caps for another pair of slippers. All the other clearance slippers were $6-15, and they were all the sleek, ballet slipper type, or the fuzzy flip-flop kind. Ok. Hello, Kitty it is. 

 Later that night I was grumbling a bit as I put on my new slippers. Seriously, Jesus? Yet wearing my sparkly, puffy, Hello Kitty slippers, my feet were warm for the first time since leaving Costa Rica. Maybe Jesus knew what He was doing in having me buy those puffy slippers.

Hear me on this, Jesus is not a pop machine. You cannot put in enough prayer change and expect exactly what you want. Neither is He a genie that grants wishes. I knew He was asking obedience out of me in Costa Rica. Stateside I put my specific request before the Lord, but then dialogued with Him about it. I asked Him where to go followed His leading. This is something God wants to do with everyone!! God loves this type of dialogue!! Try it out! Let me know your story!!!