Faith Ride (Stepping Into Bold Faith)

My husband David and I had only been married less than a year, when God decided to test our faith. Well, I'm not sure how much Dave asked for the "pop quiz", but this was the time to show that he trusted the God of his new bride. I remember like it was yesterday; I was at work sitting at my desk when I called him and said, "Babes, I believe God wants us to go to New York." He answered with a very slow, slurred voice, "Ooookay. And why does God want us to go to New York?" My response was simple, "I'm not sure." Needless to say, he was not ready to go on my faith ride. I decided to ask God to help me with him. So I called and made a deal, "Okay, if we find a deal to New York, we'll go, if not, we won't...how's that?" He sighed and said, "Okay baby". Our financial situation screamed that this was not the time for us to go out to eat, yet alone to another state 2,000 miles away. I searched fervently for airline tickets that were below the normal rates, and then it happened...the weekend "hot fare"...New Jersey special from Houston $79 one way! That was all I needed to prove that it was indeed the Lord that spoke to me and not me trying to think up a way to convince my husband to take a quick getaway. After he agreed, we were on our way to New Jersey, which was close enough for me to New York.

While we were at the airport, pretty excited that we actually made it there in enough time to sit and enjoy a nice lunch, we stood in line ready to eat and my husband begins to pat himself down frantically. I looked and asked afraid, "What's wrong?" he said, "I left the money in my drawer!" I thought to myself, "Are you kidding me?!", but I was too humbled by the fact that he chose to go with me on this faith ride, so I simply told him it was okay and that I had packed a few snacks in my purse.

We finally arrived in New Jersey; the problem, we have no money. We checked into a hotel where we barely had enough money in the bank to pay for one night. Renting a car was out of the question. I had packed a cup of noodles in my purse that we made with the help of the coffee pot in the room that produced the hot water. We had nothing but prayer and no one but God. There was absolutely no "Plan B". Dave and I joined together in prayer that Saturday night that God would perform a miracle. We were too far away and frankly too embarrassed to call any of our friends and family to let them know how crazy our faith had gotten. I remember crying out to God in my sleep, "God, I KNOW I heard you. Please come through." That morning we woke up...hungry. It was a Sunday morning, so yes, we were hungry for the Word, but even more hungry for something to eat! I called our bank beginning at 3am for what seemed like every hour until I heard it. "Balance on this account is $300" (I can't remember the exact amount). I called again to make sure that what I was hearing was in OUR account and that I didn't accidentally key in someone else's account number. It was there, in our account, all three hundred and something dollars of it!

First things first, we ate breakfast! Afterwards, we found a rental car and quickly found a church! We drove up to a church that started a little late, which was exactly what we needed. When we walked in, it was everything but what we were accustomed to, but we stayed. The next moment would be monumental for this trip of never ending surprises. The preacher was a guest preacher by the name of Michael Jordan. He had an all white robe on and he gave us the title of his message with an unapologetic roar, "A Faith That is Not Tested, Is a Faith that Can't Be Trusted". At that moment, Dave and I looked at one another and as our eyes locked, we knew that God was and had always been with us! Looking back, we would not have changed one thing.