This is part two in a two part story. If you missed part one you can click here for the beginning!

Last year I found myself in a very unexpected position. A dear friend called to let me know she had been saving for a year and wanted to take me on a trip! I was blown away by her kindness and so honored she picked me to be her traveling companion. We made our plans and set a date for the summer: we were headed to the Poconos. 

Shortly after the trip to the Poconos was planned I was given the opportunity to go to Italy. I almost missed the chance because I believed a single mom with my limited income and resources shouldn’t be able to make trips like these. I opened my mouth to say no, but “I’ll pray about it.” were the words that slipped out instead. I did pray. And God said yes.

I didn’t have the money when He said yes. I didn’t know how the details were going to play out. But in the space of two years, God had strategically infused hope and trust into my soul. I saw the enemy paying me back in small ways. I noticed these payments of retribution, but they were subtle. However, this? This was not so subtle. God said, “Yes, go to Italy.” and within a week there was a check in my mailbox for something I never expected. This check paid for the trip and multiple bills.

I had never traveled outside the country by myself before and it was my first trip to Europe. So the night before I left for Italy, I packed a single backpack (yes… ONE) and set it by the front door. I sat down in the corner of my couch to collect my thoughts about the next day. As my mind worked through my itinerary, God caught my attention. He said, “Elise, do you see where you’re sitting? Do you see what you’re looking at?” 

That’s when it hit me like a ton of bricks. I was sitting in the same spot and looking at the same HOME letters I had hung on the wall two years ago, but now there was a backpack destined for Italy resting beneath it. It was burned into my memory as the place where God told me I would be paid back for what the enemy stole from me. I realized in this moment pay back wasn’t an abstract concept manifesting in a future I didn’t currently exist in. Pay back was happening right then and there. 

That friend who called me? She planned for a year before she called me. That check in my mailbox? It was from two years prior. Payback was set in motion long before I knew anything of it. My darling starlings, God doesn’t hold His promises out like a carrot on a stick. His promises are for RIGHT NOW. They aren’t for some distant future. They are here and we have to stop politely dismissing what He says because we are scared He’s just placating us in the moment. 

Traveling isn’t the only way the enemy has had to pay me back. Restitution will still continue in other areas. But in the meantime, God saw fit to focus on an area of life I’ve secretly always loved. Traveling has always been a desire of mine. The thrill and joy I’ve experienced from traveling for the past year has been so rewarding. I remember flying back from hiking the Pocono Mountains with my friend and hearing God say, “You aren’t done traveling.” Since last summer I’ve been given the opportunity to take several trips and each one of them was orchestrated through extraordinary circumstances. Multiple invitations for fully paid trips. My community rallying together to send me to a blogging conference. Friends inviting me into their homes. 

Such sweet experiences I never could've imagined on my own. These opportunities opened my heart to dream again. When I was first walking through my divorce I felt like all my dreams died a slow, miserable death. Any dream I dared to dream was quickly snuffed out by my own hand. I became my own dream killer because I thought it was the only way to focus on the insurmountable task in front of me — raising children and surviving on my own. But God reminded me I was never alone and neither are you. I didn't conjure those dreams on my own. He partnered with me. He is the dream-giver. He will use ANY resource He chooses, even the devil, to provide for us. 

Maybe the enemy has robbed you blind. Well, my friend, get ready because God gives sight to the blind. He will bring clarity and brilliance where things were once foggy and dim. He will open your eyes to the dreams He’s planted in your soul. And when your eyes adjust to the light you’ll see — you’ll see a life you love and I have a feeling it’ll be richer than before.