“I call on the Lord in my distress, and he answers me.” Psalms 120:1
One day I had to stay after school to work on some lesson plans. I was a new high school teacher at the time and felt a little overwhelmed at my responsibilities. It started getting late in the evening and I realized that many teachers had gone home and the school was looking deserted. Suddenly I became so hungry. There were only a couple of pages to complete on my lesson plans and I had to get it done in a hurry. Because of working so many hours after school it had not dawned on me that I needed to eat something. I searched my purse for money for the snack machines. Nothing! There was no money and I lived out of town. So there was no running home to grab something to eat and come back to the school. My stomach started hurting so bad that I felt somewhat ill and dizzy. It bothered me that I had not planned ahead enough to bring something extra to eat for my lesson plan session. It seemed like I was “stuck between a rock and a hard place”. I needed to finish the lesson plans to be prepared for the next day. I didn’t have any money because I was “between pay checks, miracles, and blessings.” My body started shutting down from lack of food and too much exertion. It seemed like there was no one left at the school except the custodians and they were scattered all around the campus doing their work.
I started praying. I talked with the Lord and told him that I needed a miracle. I needed something to eat immediately so that I could finish up and go home. It looked so hopeless. Where would I find food in this situation and if I found it I couldn’t pay for it. Tears began to well up in my eyes. It was getting even later in the evening now. I decided to step outside of my classroom to get some fresh air. I was not feeling so well. I didn’t even feel well enough to drive home. I don’t ever remember allowing myself to become this hungry before. I looked up into the sky and took a deep breath. I gave the Lord thanks anyway. As I turned to go back into my classroom, I heard someone call my name. Immediately my head turned to see where the sound came from. A teacher was running toward my classroom. She said, “Hey Patrice! The Future Farmers of American Club are selling dinners on the other side of the campus. I bought a dinner just to support them but I don’t need it. Do you like Bar-b-que Chicken, baked beans, cole slaw, potato salad, and bread rolls and sweet tea?” My knees buckled and I almost collapsed, not because I was feeling ill but because of the shock of the miracle I had just witnessed. What an awesome God! My miracle and blessing was on the other side of the campus but I couldn’t see it. I thought the school was deserted! Then the Lord sent someone with dinner to my rescue. It may sound simple and insignificant, but it meant the world to me at the time. I will never forget how I felt when I saw God come to my rescue in such an intense and needy time in my life. I called on the Lord in my distress and he did answer me. The Lord will come to your rescue. Never ever give up. He is faithful.
Patrice Tankard