Henceforth We Are Friends!

Hello! A lot happened this week (says everyone), but the thing worth most sharing is the reoccurring theme that kept appearing at unexpected times. I was running late for one of my classes (also a theme I am noticing) and in my rush I forgot my calculator. This would have been devastating on any given day, for you engineering majors you know your calculator is an extension of our right hand, but this day it was especially horrible because I had a statics exam. I dug around in my backpack a little more (now officially late for Spanish) and couldn’t find it, I could only conclude that my backpack was like a magician’s hat, I had practically everything inside there except my calculator and a white bunny. Now the reality of my missing calculator was really setting in and I only had a couple of options, buy a new one (not really an option because they cost more than a whole Benjamin Franklin), text a friend who is hopefully around and could give me theirs (also not likely because all my engineering friends are scattered across campus in brightly lit labs doing the homework with their calculator).  There was no way I could do this exam without one, I could of course show all of the work on how to do the problem, but if I didn’t give a numeric answer then my only hope was mercy and partial credit. The last thought my already-overwhelmed brain thought was, Lord, Help me! Of course at this moment my good engineering friend walked by and I knew she would have her trusty calculator she would hopefully lend me. This encounter was amazing for two reasons, one, I met this friend our freshman year. Since then I have never met her while walking around campus, this was the second time in three years. Secondly, I was amazed that as soon as I thought for help, the Lord provided, instantaneously.  My mind went to the Psalm 18:6, In my distress I called upon the LORD, and cried unto my God: he heard my voice out of his temple, and my cry came before him, even into his ears.

The second instance (I’ll make this narrative shorter) was two days after, I had just finished my time in the fluorescent, all-but-silent-except-for-furious-typing lab and was walking towards my car. When I parked there that morning I knew the lot was far away and secluded but I hadn’t anticipated coming back in the evening. Yet I found myself walking up the stairs, about to take the turn onto the unlit path leading to the parking lot, yikes. Part of me said, “aw, come on! Think of all the places you’ve been abroad and nothing happened” the other part thought, “but still! There is no way I’m walking down that creepy dark road, but I have to get my car”. At that moment, (am I getting predictable now?) a different friend from my math class came down the road in her car and with an excited “Is that Genevieve? Get in, where are you going?” I was delivered right to my car. The theme should be obvious by now, it definitely is to me and I will never forget it. Psalm 18:6 isn’t just a verse that I read about someone else’s life, but it was now a part of my story and my truth about how God hears me, delivers me and cares for me. Whenever I had read Psalm 18:6 before I thought “distress” meant, you know, being hotly pursued by angry men on horses with spears and your death-wish. From David’s story we know this was true, but I believe David knew God showed his love and care even when David didn’t need to be rescued. If God was only the one who answered us when we were in trouble, He would only be our savior but Jesus made it clear, that henceforth we are his friends.