A Parking God Story

There has been quite a bit of heavy stuff here on my blog recently, what with my Paul, Barnabas & Timothy stories and my Kuching God story. 😅 

So, here I am, taking a break from my Kuching God story for a bit to share something more light-hearted. And, maybe to some, it may not be significant but I felt led to share about it, nevertheless. 

Okay, first the story. 

Tuesday afternoon, I brought my daughter for her 2nd dose Covid vaccination. (OK, let's not focus or argue or comment on whether Covid vaccination is necessary. Let's be excited about my parking God story.)

So, here are some things that you need to know:

The time, it's peak hour. I picked her up from school and drove to the clinic. So, it's lunch hour.

The location, it's at city centre. It's congested at normal non-peak hours, so I dare not imagine how heavy traffic will be or how hard it will be to get a parking. 

But because of my schedule, I went ahead. 

So, of course I prayed. 

Firstly, I (obviously) prayed for my child's well-being. Every time my son or my daughter is due for their Covid vaccination, somehow, the devil will brought people along my path to tell me stories of how their children or someone else's children reacted negatively to the Covid vaccination. Fever, aches, short of breath, rashes - you name it, I heard it. 

I had to remind the party who was telling me these stories (and myself at the same time) - Not to worry. I have prayed and I believed Jesus will keep my child in perfect health. 

I know that they are only expressing their concern and they meant well. They do not have any bad intention. But it did creep in to me ever so slightly - 'What if?'. And I had to consciously rebuke and cancel those thoughts. 

So, of course, I prayed over my daughter and canceled all possible side effects and reactions in the name of Jesus. I also got her to pray as well. 

The next thing I prayed for was for everything to go smoothly. 

For each of the thing that I know might be a hindrance of a smooth vaccination process, I prayed against it and pray for the exact opposite to happen. 

For the heavy traffic, I prayed for smooth traffic flow for me. No getting stuck in any jam anywhere. 

For the impossibility to get a parking, I prayed specifically to get a parking right in front of the row of shops where the clinic is. And to get it fast. No making rounds and rounds to wait for someone to release a parking for me. 😂

For the vaccination process, I prayed to be able to get my Esther vaccinated quickly. No long queue or any system glitch or anything of that sort. 

And I suppose you can guess by now, that every single of the above prayer, including the one about Esther not having any side effect, was answered beautifully! 

1) The drive was smooth. 

2) When we turn the junction to the clinic, I saw an empty parking slot. I asked God to reserve that lot for me and not let the 2 cars in front of me take that parking lot. 😝 And viola! 

Yup, upon arriving at the row of shops where the clinic is, I parked straight into the parking lot God has reserved for me. Right in front of the shop! I didn't need to walk far, I didn't make even a second round. 

3) When we entered the designated vaccination area, Esther was the only one to get her shot. Not only that, I later found out that the clinic no longer operates the vaccination centre daily. It is now only on Tuesdays, Saturdays and Sundays. 

Of course, I did call the clinic to confirm if they are opened that Tuesday morning. But think about it, what God-incidence can it be that they open on the one weekday Tuesday that I had planned to bring Esther for vaccination! 

That night, I shared this seemingly very small and unimportant testimony to a group of my brothers and sisters over a zoom meeting. But I was beaming from ear to ear with so much joy and excitement as I was sharing that night, that people might have mistaken that I have just received some miraculous gift from God. 😂 

And I realised something - I can talk about God's goodness in every big and small thing with so much joy it is almost not normal. Hahaha! 

It must be a special gift and talent from the Lord. 😛

(We must all learn to do this - see and talk about God with much joy, in the big and in the small things alike.)

Jokes aside, I know getting a parking spot may sound and seem like something really not worth mentioning. Surely our God is mightier than only being able to grant us parking lot. Surely our God is busier and more sovereign than caring about where and when we get to park our car. 

And many would discount it as just a coincidence or think of it as insignificant. 

Yes, it may be true that getting an answered 'parking prayer' is not as big a deal, as compared to an answered 'healing prayer' or 'salvation prayer' or 'provision prayer' or 'deliverance prayer'. 

But it is still God nonetheless! 

It is still God answering the prayer. 

(I tell you, to get a parking at the first instant right in front of that row of shop on a Tuesday lunch time afternoon is almost next to impossible! You won't be able to persuade me that it is not God granting me the parking. 😁)

And I am not exaggerating, nor am I shy to say this - I have prayed so many 'parking prayers' that, now, my children has caught on. They sometime prayed it on my behalf. 😂 It may be something small, but it is my prayer that my children will learn to go to God first in every need and every request that they have. 

What's more, when my 2 young child pray for parking spot, they do expect to find a parking spot relatively easy and fast, simply because Jesus is good. 😅 I guess that is what we'd call childlike faith. Haha! 

Also, maybe you may not realise that what had happened was more than just God answering my parking prayer. It was my loving Abba Father knowing, caring and providing for my need. Even in the simplest and most mundane and most boring daily routine. 

Imagine the inconvenience of having to park farther away and walk a long(er) distance, in the midst of the peak hour traffic, with my young child to the clinic. Not to mention that it will be under the bright hot Malaysia sun 😅. 

God knows that behind my prayer for a good parking spot was my need for a safe and fast (and the least hassle) way to bring my child to get her vaccination. 

And He made it all beautiful. 

So, beloved in Christ, the next time you need a smooth traffic, a good parking lot or a no hassle process, remember that it is not too small or too insignificant a request to bring it to the Lord. 

Don't think that it is something too silly or too mundane to trouble God with. 

After all, what does the Bible tell us? To 'be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God' (Phil 4:6)? 

Trust me, when the Apostle Paul said 'everything', he really meant EVERYTHING. 

Including parking lot. Yes, even the parking lot. 😀

Source: Internet