An answer to prayer

I started at a new Starbucks on Tuesday morning. The wonderful thing about Starbucks is that as a Starbucks employee, you can work at any Starbucks store in U.S. This was one of the things that made moving so un-stressful; I had a job even before I moved.

My new store is great. Tuesday morning was a rather slow day, but meeting some of my co-workers and being introduced to some of the regulars made it better. I was pleasantly surprised at how much my new co-workers and regulars were interested in my story of moving back to Idaho.

This morning I opened (4:30 a.m.) and met my new boss for the first time. She was so nice and so invested in making sure I had everything set up for my transition to the new store.

Today I felt at home. I was put on bar during the morning rush and loved it. In the midst of the rush, my co-worker I was double-barring with and I took espresso shots together in the cheers fashion. It was awesome because this was a ritual I loved at my old store.

The most encouraging part of today was the conversation I had with my new boss about my hours. On Tuesday I saw my schedule for the next two weeks, and was a little startled to see I only had 22, and 26 hours (two shifts I was scheduled for were also Sundays). I did something stupid in response to this; I worried. Then, I prayed. I prayed that I would not only get the hours I needed, but also be able to have Sundays off so I could go to church. When I talked to my manager about my hours, I asked her if she had received an availability form for me. When she told me she hadn't, she also asked if I was able to work full-time. I said, "Yes, put me as close to 40 hours as you can," to which she replied, "Oh, great. We have plenty of room for full-time here." When I told her about the problem with working Sundays, she told me there was plenty of availability for working Sundays, so me not working wouldn't be a problem.

Wow, what an answer to prayer.

Philippians 4:6 says, "Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God."

As Christians, we're called to be like Christ. Guess what? Jesus didn't worry. When we worry, we doubt the capability of God. The Bible says "with thanksgiving, present your requests to God." This means we should show our thankfulness to God for everything He's given us, even before we consult Him in prayer. This is one of the many things that should separate us from non-believers. We acknowledge what God has already done in our lives before we present a request before Him. A prayer isn't something we throw up to God, hoping He'll respond; it's an act of obedient acknowledgement for what God has done for us. Jesus didn't freak out and worry, neither should we.

Justin