Obedience to The God Who Moves Mountains Part 1

Then the LORD said to Moses, “Behold, I will rain bread from heaven for you; and the people shall go out and gather a day’s portion every day, that I may test them, whether or not they will walk in My instruction. “On the sixth day, when they prepare what they bring in, it will be twice as much as they gather daily…”  (Exodus 16:4-5)

Do you know that the prayers of the saints are like a sweet aroma to The Almighty (Ps 141)? That He puts all our tears in a bottle and keeps a record of them (Ps 56:8)? The prayers, from my cries, sent up by my dear sisters in Christ, were heard and answered, immediately. That night the temperatures rose and I wasn’t freezing in the tent. The next morning I received the wisdom of no one joining me on this journey, and a beautiful serenity enveloped the campsite. It was a joy to be surrounded by nature and the quickly falling leaves of autumn. Ahhh, I could breathe easily for the first time in almost 6 months. If you know me, you understand how deeply I believe in obedience to The God who moves mountains.

If you have walked steadfastly and intimately with Yeshua/Jesus for any length of time, I hope you have learned He has a sense of humor. That morning I went to boil water on the camp stove, only to find I had no propane in the canister I was using. I did not want to open another one so opted to do without warm tea that morning, or to cook. While planning for this journey, I thought to bring along lots of things to eat that didn’t require hot water or heat period. Like a good virgin waiting on her Lord, I tried to be wise! I thought about what I had in stock and went to the SUV to get supplies. My mother had bought me a protein shaker and metal water container set over a year prior, so I packed them; I bought a powdered protein mix and plenty of water (along with water filtering supplies).

Apparently, I hadn’t looked very closely at the shaker cup because for the first time I saw the word “Manna” imprinted on it. I stood there looking at the cup in disbelief for a moment then burst out laughing. I thought, ‘My God, you are MY GOD and You are indeed in every single detail of our lives! Sneaky Creator…probably up there on your throne just waiting for me to see this divine message, giggling. (See top image.)  To describe the shift that occurred in me, the lightness that overcame the heavy from that point on, wouldn’t do it justice. That night I nearly froze in the tent and asked what He wanted from me, He heard me. “Trust Me”…plain and simple.

There should not be a doubt in anyone’s mind about the level of trust I have in my Lord, my Father, after following the instructions to live in a tent for as long as He decided I needed to be there, as this was a sincere act of obedience. Having seen the type of weather moving into the area, beginning the next day, I decided to go into Abingdon for more propane. I was scheduled to start camping at The Breaks Interstate Park (VA) on Sunday so had to decide if I was going to extend my stay at Beartree.

While driving, I received into my spirit an unexpected word: Get an Airbnb. Frankly, I began to discern this immediately, because I don’t like dealing with Airbnb. So, I knew this was not my thought. I arrived at Lowe’s hoping they’d carry a larger refillable propane tank, with no luck, and their 16oz tanks were much more costly than at Walmart, so headed across the street. I heard it again: Get an Airbnb. I pulled out my mobile and pulled up the weather. Rain was moving in Thursday afternoon, then the temps were dropping again. So, I took this message I kept hearing as the answer to what I was supposed to do. At least for the rest of that week, I was going to (hopefully) find a cheap Airbnb nearby.

I sat in Walmart’s lot and pulled up the website, searched local availabilities then reached out to book a farm experience that sounded really cool. This meant I had to also stick around town for a bit, then check messages again later if I didn’t hear back immediately. I decided to drive around a bit just to check out more of the town and grab some coffee and warm food. No response came from that host so I pulled up a few more to save, then made my way back to camp. We went for a nice walk that evening and went into the tent early. I had been reading the book of Hebrews before going to sleep and was eager to finish.

The next morning, I stepped out of the tent into a misty morning. I needed to get myself on the road to Abingdon to check Airbnb for a response. There was none. So, I messaged the host and went ahead and booked the room in hopes she’d get back to me quicker if I did. It was starting to rain and I could see heavy dark rain clouds to the west of me.  Campground checkout was at noon and it was 10:30am. By the time I returned, it had begun to sprinkle. I tackled getting things packed into the SUV before taking the tent down. Rain began to fall a little steadier. If you’ve ever tried to take down and fold a tent in the rain, you understand the issues I was coming up against. It’s a pain!

By the time everything was packed into the SUV, it was almost 1:00pm. Thank goodness most camp hosts are lenient when there are no reservations on a site!

I drove back to Abingdon to check Airbnb: There was still no confirmation from the site host. Urgh! My pup was running out of food so I searched for the nearest chain pet store, hoping to find a PetSmart or Pet Supplies Plus, as he is on a special diet. Thankfully, I found a PetSmart in Bristol, Virginia – not too far away. I checked Airbnb again…still no response, so I called customer service and asked them to call the host. They couldn’t get anyone on the phone and told me to cancel the booking. I did so, then reached out to another place I’d saved in Bristol, Tennessee.
This person got back to me very quickly and asked for time to prepare, so requested I come around 7:00pm and confirmed the booking.

I got what I needed at PetSmart, then decided since it wasn’t raining there, to grab food and go to Sugar Hollow Park on the same road. We had such a great time walking along the trails underneath giant pine trees. We headed back to the SUV and onto our next destination (scrreech – an Aldi – U-turn. I was so glad to buy some healthy food!)

I arrived at the house of the Airbnb hosts. I walked in and oh, can I tell you, His presence was there to greet me at the door. Mandy and Keith were warm, welcoming, and accommodating. What a blessing…and soon, I’d find out just what kind, and whose blessing this was meant to be.