When Life Gives You Lemons... Give Them to God So He Can Make the Lemonade for You

Even in the bad, God teaches us something good.

Yesterday morning I was driving by my house and hit some train tracks at a bad angle. I had to immediately pull over and call AAA to come tow my car to the Firestone by my office. A few hours later I got a call from the mechanic with more bad news – I had completely bent my tie rod and the cost for parts and labor was going to be a whopping SIX HUNDRED DOLLARS.

The sweet man from AAA loading my car onto his tow truck at 7 a.m.

Like any good 22-year-old, I called my dad immediately. I tried to play the “I’m-poor-and-I-need-you-to-take-care-of-me” card that worked quite a bit in college. Unfortunately, it didn’t work this time. I got the “you’re-graduated-and-have-a-job-now-and-this-is-your-responsibility” speech instead of the “of course I’ll spoil you!” speech I was praying for. While a completely legitimate and valid point (and honestly I agree with him), what it really came down to is the fact that I just don’t have $600 laying around in my bank account to pay to fix my car, and without a car in Nashville I would literally be stranded. I had thought that God would use my dad to help me. I began to doubt His provision in this situation and couldn't understand what lesson the Lord was trying to teach me.

It was at this point that the Lord started to bless me tremendously.

All of a sudden everyone in my office started coming to my rescue. Coworkers I hardly even know were reaching out to me. People were offering anything they could, from driving miles and miles out of their way to get me to and from work, to praying that God would provide in my time of need. And God did provide! One of the women I work with handed me her car keys and her debit card, told me to go to the ATM and take out as much money as I needed, and said I could pay her back whenever I was able to (Ridiculous, I know -- who does that?? Only at Mercy!).

Now any of y’all who know me know that I get SO UNCOMFORTABLE when people try to give me gifts or do me favors. The thought of inconveniencing anyone for my benefit makes me cringe. All my life I have taken care of myself, and I often do things the hard way just because I don’t want to have to ask for help. Recently though, God has really been convicting me of my pride. I personally get a lot of joy out of being able to do things for my friends and giving them gifts – why wouldn’t I want to let others serve me in a similar way?

Since getting to Nashville I’ve often been overcome by feelings of gratitude and unworthiness. God has repeatedly put me in the most amazing circumstances and has repeatedly surrounded me with the most amazing people. This situation was just another reminder of His grace and mercy. I’ve only been at Mercy Ministries for a month, yet my entire office was covering me with their love when I was in a tough situation. As much as I absolutely love Nashville, it has been quite a transition going from having my group of 20 best friends who are all believers in addition to my 283 sorority sisters, to starting to form random friendships that haven’t yet had the proper time to develop and grow deeper. I sometimes feel pretty alone here, but yesterday God proved to me that I am not. He taught me I have a family at Mercy that loves me and will take care of me, and for that I am so thankful!

Praising Jesus for his wonderful provision!

Happy Birthday to Me!

In lieu of birthday gifts this year, I'd like to instead request that you do one of the following for me (or BOTH if you're feeling extra generous!)

The first request is that you text MERCY to 89544 to donate $10 to Mercy Ministries. The charge will just be added to your cell phone bill (if your parents are still paying your cell phone bill, then this is even more perfect because you're not going to have to pay anything!) -- if you're feeling extra generous, you can always go to our website and donate any amount here.

The next request is that you go to your nearest American Red Cross and donate blood! The Red Cross is at a critical low this summer (they haven't had this short of a supply in 12 years), and sick people need our healthy blood! Lets save some lives, people! You can find out where your nearest Red Cross donation center is here and make an appointment.

Me giving blood before work on Friday morning at the Nashville Red Cross

If you donate to Mercy or donate to the Red Cross please let me know so I can properly thank you! I love and appreciate every single one of you -- thanks for helping make my 22nd birthday extra special!

In Love With Music City

When people ask me why I love Nashville so much I never know how to answer because I haven’t quite put my finger on the exact reason. Usually I throw out some general, non-descript statement like, “because it’s amazing!” This morning however, it clicked. I love Nashville because the people here are absolutely wonderful. They truly love their neighbor as themselves.

I had another reminder of this today. This morning I went to Christ Church with my friend Merri and decided to stop by Qdoba for a quick lunch on my way home. I sat down and prayed over my food (my prayer was a little longer than normal today… maybe because I just got out of church? Haha). When I opened my eyes a girl who looked about mid-20s came up to me. She said, “excuse me, I know this is really random and probably a little weird, but I noticed you praying and saw you were sitting by yourself and I was wondering if you’d like to come and eat with me and my friends?”

Of course I said yes (if you know me at all you shouldn’t be surprised) and ended up hanging out and eating with my new friend Libby, her husband Jonny, and their friends for an hour. They were all so sweet, asking me questions about where I’m from and what I’m dong in Nashville, and we exchanged phone numbers at the end of the meal to hang out in the future.

Hebrews 13:1-2 says, “Keep on loving one another as brothers and sisters. Do not forget to show hospitality to strangers, for by so doing some have shown hospitality to angels without knowing it.” We are called to love one another, even when we don’t know each other. People in Nashville have a very firm grasp on this concept. I may not be an angel, but I know the Lord will bless every single person who has reached out to me since I’ve been here.



This is Jonny, Libby's husband -- turns out he just so happens to be a pretty popular Christian recording artist who just so happens to be an artist partner of Mercy Ministries... what a small town Music City is!