Have you ever had one of those days where everything goes wrong but it's all okay because you know that God loves you incredibly much? Last Saturday was like that for me.

I was going to this defensive driving class in Flagstaff (about a 3 hour drive away) because I wanted to get rid of my first (and hopefully only) speeding ticket without getting points on my license. The class started at 7:30 in the morning, so I planned to leave at 3:30 just to make sure I had plenty of time to get there. I know that waking up that early is dumb, but staying in a hotel by myself sounded dumber. So there I was. :-)

At 11:00 p.m. the night before, I started feeling nasty in my guts. I don't get the stomach flu very often, which means that I am kind of a wimp when I do. Although uncomfortable, though, I was still able to kind of function, and I REALLY didn't want to have to reschedule the class, so I went anyways - assuming I would be able to sit through the class. Halfway there I remembered that Arizona time is an hour behind mine, so I could have slept in one more hour! Sigh.

I was doing pretty well holding my stomach down until I had stood in line waiting to check in for about 15 minutes. All of a sudden I couldn't handle it any longer so I made a dash for the outdoors. It didn't last long, but as I was gasping for breath I felt a cool hand on my shoulder and this lady with a nice foreign accent said, "Are you alright? I was like that all day yesterday. In fact, I was in the hospital last night. Make sure you keep drinking plenty of water!" Meanwhile her husband had quietly found a wipe from his backpack, which he handed to me. "Yes, I'm feeling quite fine now, thanks," I said and they walked off. Maybe they were angels. Even if they weren't, God certainly used them to prove to me that He was walking right next to me and holding me up.

Then the class, which I had expected to be quite long and incredibly boring, turned out to be really interesting. It was fun to get to know my random, unique classmates some, and the most fun part was learning from the instructor. I think he was probably a Christian. He had such a neat perspective on the law, on the evil that human beings are capable of and yet the grace that we are still allowed to live in a free country. Of course he couldn't actually talk about God but he put up a quote by Chuck Swindoll and mentioned his church briefly. And it just seemed obvious in the way he treated people with respect, humility, and honesty.

After the class I shopped a little, since Flagstaff has things like 1) auto parts stores that actually carry parts for my car, 2) sports equipment stores that carry good running shoes, 3) a Target!, and 4) thrift stores. And then I drove home, happy all the way because God loves me so much and He had scheduled a "date" with me so I could be sure of it. Our Daddy in heaven is so good!