Our God is greater!

Now that we're back and beginning to get settled, I'm trying to process all that happened on our trip. From time to time, I'll try to share some of our experiences and stories.

Today, I'd like to tell a little story about going to get the court decree...

We were told the court decree would be ready on Friday morning, July 9th. "L", our facilitator, checked more than once to verify this fact.

So we left our apartment around 7:45 to get to the courthouse when it opened at 8:00. At 8:05, "L" and I walked into the building. We went upstairs to one room. The lady there told us to go to another room. The lady in that room informed us that the judge was not in, but the decree was ready. She instructed us to go downstairs to Room 20 to retrieve our paperwork.

We walked down to the room. It was probably 10 x 20. One wall was solid windows. The other 3 were floor-to-ceiling book cases, stacked high with piles of papers and binders. The room contained 3 rickety desks. And the remainder of the floor was riddled with stacks of papers, each about 2 feet high.

One lady sat in the room, with a miserable scowl on her face. "L" asked for the court decree and Scowling Lady told us it wouldn't be ready until July 15. I think my jaw dropped. "L" explained that they were ready now, and somewhere in this room (at least, I think that's what she was saying). Scowling Lady didn't seem to agree.

I began to worry, and maybe panicked a little. So I prayed. I asked God to help us. Okay, I begged.

Scowling Lady began reluctantly looking at papers. Two other women made their way into the room and sat at their desks. "L" would periodically say something to Scowling Lady, who would mumble back at her.

Then, I changed how I was praying. I spoke to God, saying I knew with confidence He had already handled this situation, and I thanked Him in Jesus' name for what was about to happen.

At that EXACT moment (8:17 AM), one of the other ladies in the room stood up, walked over, and handed Scowling Lady our court decree - 10 official copies.

We thanked her, checked over everything, and left to continue our paper chase.

Why did I worry? Why was I anxious? Because I was trying to take control. But all along, God was in control. He always is.

Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition,with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.

Philippians 4:6