My son Ethan and I had to run out for a late lunch at a nearby restaurant and the waitress we had was friendly. She told us she had a son Ethan's age. I asked her how many kids she had and she said four. I said, "Wow, how do you do it?"

"The Lord," was her immediate reply.

And I agreed, "Yeah, that is how I do it, too."

She started to tell me that she had just moved from Georgia and that her husband had hurt her physically and she had to get out with her kids. She said she had been recovering from cancer as well. She said her grandmother and uncle recently passed away and they were the last family she knew in the area.

I asked her, "So you are a single parent?" I inquired if she had found a church to go to and she replied, "No, but I am looking for one." I suggested that she come to my church and she said she might. Then I asked her if she needed anything. She told us she needed beds because she and her four children were sleeping on a full bed together or on blankets on the floor, as they only had one bed among them. I told her I was sure we could help her. I took her name and phone number. She said they had come to the area with just about nothing.

That very same afternoon I kept thinking, "I need beds. Where can I get beds? New beds are expensive and used mattresses are sometimes not so good... and she has four kids."

I went to a juvenile center ministry meeting that night and afterward I decided to take a long way home. I was talking to God in the car about this situation with needing the beds. A friend of my son had gone to church camp with him the year before and I wanted to find out if he wanted to go to camp again. Their phone number had changed and I did not have the new number. So I decided to stop by their house while I was near it.

My friend came to the door and we talked a little about camp, and then she said the most extraordinary thing: she asked me if I needed beds! Surprised, I said, "What?"

She repeated, "Do you need any beds?"

"Are you kidding?"

"No, I have a bunch of beds I want to get rid of."

So I told my friend about the lady I met earlier that same day and her needs. She and her mom, who was also there, were amazed. She told me that she had a bunk bed with a full-size mattress on the bottom and a twin mattress on top. The second bed, which she had gotten brand new from someone else, was a twin bunk bed. There were exactly enough beds for four kids. I offered to pay her for the beds, but she said that all she wanted was for them to go to someone who really needed them.

Soon after, I hopped in my car, stunned by all this, and drove back to the restaurant where I met this woman. She saw me come into the restaurant and remembered me. I told her I had beds for her and told her the story. She was amazed and we agreed that this was a miracle from God. She said she was really relying on God to carry her.

I was so stunned by this event: that around 3:30 p.m. this woman I have never met before tells me she desperately needs beds. I then visited a friend randomly by 8 p.m. who has beds to give away on the same day and there are enough beds for four kids -- exactly what they needed.

The next day, I visited my church's sister church, which is in the same inner city area where the woman lives. I spoke with the interim pastor who says these hardship stories are commonplace in the area. Some people had advised me not to get too involved or too close to this situation and I mentioned it to this pastor. He responded by taking me aside, and he said he had a Bible verse he wanted to give me. He told me to remember Galatians 6:9 and he quoted it with great ease to me -- as if it were a verse he knew well:

Galatians 6:9: And let us not be weary in well doing: for in due season we shall reap, if we faint not.

I made a note of the verse he gave me, but I was not prepared for what happened to me that same day. I came home later and I decided to check my email along with my daily devotional email. To my amazement, I received an email that was all about the single Bible verse Galatians 6:9! It was the same verse the inner city church pastor had impressed on me to remember earlier in the day. Of course, this was an amazing confirmation from the Lord to continue to help this needy family.

Once you make a commitment for the Lord to give Him your life, I believe wholeheartedly that if you desire to help others, God will provide you with opportunities and give you the needed resources to make a difference.

This story is an excerpt shared by Susan Davis from her book, In Love with the Whirlwind: When God Takes Your Heart by Storm.

Susan D.

Indianapolis, IN