Forever a Foreigner

When was a time that God answered your prayer in an immediate, almost shocking way?

I was recently reminded of this event in my own life:

When I was in college, I had a green mechanical pencil of a particular brand that can (perhaps) only be found in a certain store in Cambodia. I had brought the pencil with me from Cambodia to America, and I used it daily. In short, this pencil was a sentimental item that brought me a sense of comfort in a land far from the one I knew.

And, one Wednesday, I lost it. I searched repeatedly for the pencil: in my classrooms, retracing my steps, in my bag, in my dorm room–but to no avail. It was gone.

This time in my life was very stressful to me. I was working multiple part-time jobs and had a full class schedule. I was worrying about my finances. I also had an exam the next day. The pencil was a small thing, but on that day it felt like a blow.

I went to church that evening, and though I can’t remember exactly the songs or what the preacher said, my heart was stirred to turn to the Lord. I prayed, asking him for help, help with my exam, help with learning to trust him. Then I also prayed that if God willed, he would help me find my green mechanical pencil.

The service ended. I walked out the side door. It was drizzling, a rainy night in a Greenville parking lot. I adjusted my coat and opened my umbrella. In my other hand, I carried my purse and car keys.

At that moment, something fell out of the sky into the grass next to the path. My heart jumped into my throat. In disbelief, I bent down and picked it up.

It was that pencil.

I gripped it in my hand, feeling a mixture of awe and fear. For a terrifying moment, I believed that God Himself had torn open the fabric of reality to return my pencil. I stared up at the night sky in shock.

A moment’s thought later, I realized that it was my umbrella. The pencil must have fallen into the closed umbrella earlier in the day, only falling out once I opened it. But the timing was, of course, no coincidence.

My spirit was so strengthened by this moment. I felt God’s love and care for me in such a direct, intimate way, that He would grant me this prayer about such a tiny, insignificant thing. Of course God would take care of me about the rest. I gave Him my worries and my cares, and He brought me through it all: the exam the next day, my work, my bills, and all.

And I will never forget that instant when I thought God had dropped my pencil straight out of the sky.

“You do not have, because you do not ask.”

James 4:2