Printing

Last night at NavNite, my friends Rob Thompson and Drew Martin shared a story that you really have to read first to understand why I am posting this story. You can read Rob’s October 25 post here:

http://abreathfromheaven.blogspot.com/

What I write here may seem futile, but it’s not. He is so glorified even in the smallest things.

I am the Assistant Marketing Director at the Campus Recreation Center at Tech (I promise that sounds way cooler than it is). This morning when I went into work, my boss wasn’t there, so I called her. She was on her way to a meeting and told me to see another lady and help her with an event being hosted at the CRC at 11am. I knocked on her office door and saw through the window that she was on the phone. I waited outside. When she opened the door a few minutes later, she was crying. She couldn’t even contain herself. As she forced a smile at me, I asked her if she needed me to print and cut the fliers I made for the event. She asked for 300 fliers in 20 minutes and politely shut the door. 

I freaked out. I wasn’t nearly as concerned with getting the job done for the event... they were just little flyers... but this lady was going through something bad. I later heard her talking in the hallway to her boss, saying, “I can’t take it anymore. I’ve got to take a personal day tomorrow.” I just wanted to make one thing a little easier for her. But here’s the problem: I’ve worked at the CRC for 7 weeks and have already successfully managed to break every appliance in the giant copy room in the offices. On my first day, I already had the Assistant Director of Facilities, the Operations Manager, and the Administrative Coordinator helping me unjam the shredder. The 7ft. copier, named “Rico,” seems to jam on me every five copies I try to make, forcing me to act for two seconds like I know anything about technology and open up the back of the stupid thing and get covered in ink and get it on my white shorts and cut my hand, every time. The industrial printer is the worst, though. It’s wires are somehow crossed between the trays to where you have to press “OK” for every piece of paper being printed, even if it’s 100 of the same thing. My point is that getting 300 fliers printed in 20 minutes was totally not going to happen.

First, I tried the copier, just for kicks. It jammed, of course. I tried printing only five from the printer, hoping that for the first time in forever the thing would print consecutive copies without stopping between each one. It didn’t work. It even rotated and cut off the pages at random. 

But after hearing Rob and Drew’s testimonies last night and hearing my friend Cam talk about praying over inanimate objects, I faced the printer and put my hands on it. I felt ridiculous, but I kept thinking about the lady I was doing this for. She needed one thing to go right. I prayed that God would make the printer work just this one day, and I praised Him for testing my patience so that it would grow. 

By now I had 12 minutes. I told the printer to print 100 copies. I went to cut in half the few I already had, and from behind me I heard the printer start... and it worked. Between copying five sheets at a time on Rico and the slow printer, I got the flyers to her on time. When my boss got back later, I asked her if anyone had fixed the printer recently. She said no one has touched it.

Except God.

He fixed an inanimate object.

God, You are good, and You are powerful! It’s amazing to see Your Spirit moving so tangibly through people so close to me! I am in complete awe of the personal love and intimacy You have with us. How could we ever be worthy of even speaking to You, the Holy One, Adonai, Yahweh? How can we not forever live in complete joy and confidence in Your Son, Who You sent to reunite us with You? It is through Him that we can even have these prayers You so faithfully answer. Thank You for listening, God. Thank You for Your timing, for Your provision, and for Your grace.

In Your Son’s Name, Amen.

He who did not spare his own Son, but gave him up for us all—how will he not also, along with him, graciously give us all things? 
Romans 8:32

If you remain in me and my words remain in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you. 
John 15:7

But it is the spirit in a man, the breath of the Almighty, that gives him understanding. 
Job 32:8

The Spirit searches all things, even the deep things of God. For who among men knows the thoughts of a man except the man's spirit within him? In the same way no one knows the thoughts of God except the Spirit of God. 
1 Corinthians 2:11