There was a time when restaurants were closed on holidays like Thanksgiving and Christmas. Convenience stores weren’t around. Gas stations had set hours and if you pulled up to the pump after hours – there was no pumping gas – because debit cards weren’t around yet either!

My husband, Ken, and I found ourselves in just such a situation coming back on a tour bus from a concert on Thanksgiving morning. The church that hosted us the night before gave us cash to buy lunch and so we left early that morning heading back toward our ministry home base in Pensacola, FL. Reminiscing about Thanksgiving family meals with the rest of our group and watching for signs of a restaurant open on Thanksgiving…and NOT finding any…we started getting really hungry.

Finally, we found a tiny, roadside gas station, the kind with a single gas pump, and just a handful of small items on the shelf inside by the cash register. That Thanksgiving Ken and I split a little pop top can of vienna sausages and a coke for our Thanksgiving meal….and we were so thankful! That was roughly 35 years ago…and we still remember that holiday with gratefulness. That memory reminds us that God is in every detail of our lives and He provides for us all along the way. Everyone else was at home with their families on that holiday…except that one guy…who decided to stay open on a back road in the middle of nowhere….with a few cans of vienna sausages and a soda machine.

God provides. It may not always look the way we think it should, but He knows what we need and when we need it. Philippians 4:19 (NLT) is our promise of Jehovah Jireh. “And this same God who takes care of me will supply all your needs from His glorious riches, which have been given to us in Christ Jesus.” Acknowledge God in your story and watch and see what He will do!