$2300

$2300.

I could probably plant a tree just from the amount of letters I get from Harding telling me my payments are due. Yes, I know it's their job, but those letters aren't making the payments come any faster. You see, my mom is a secretary at Lipscomb University in the counseling center. She is one of the hardest working women I know, but the fact is, secretaries don't make much money (I equate their jobs to those of teachers-overworked, underpaid). My dad. Now, I could write a book on him. I love my dad more than really anyone on the planet. He is so much like me and so much of who I want to be. He too works himself to the bone. He has two jobs and works seven days a week. But more than that, he is a landscaper. The hot sun beats down on him, draining his energy, as he does all the things that no body really ever wants to do. And I attend a Christian university. One that I am proud, honored, and excited to be attending, but one that costs a LOT of money.

$2300

I have had a financial hold on my account at least twice that I can remember, but never this much before. The spring is difficult. There are a lot of things to be paid for. Besides all that I listed above about my parents, my younger sister attends a private high school (careful before you criticize) and my dad's job relies solely on the weather. If you know anything about Nashville weather, you know that it is unpredictable, to say the least. One day it could be freezing, the next, 75 degrees. That makes it extremely difficult to maintain a job.
I have said all this to say: we owed a lot of money. $2300 to be exact, and I wasn't going to be able to register for classes. My parents attempted to put my mind at ease, saying that I would just have to register late, that it would be ok. But what they didn't know, was that it wasn't with me. I love Harding, but I love my parents and I can't bear the thought of the pain in my dad's heart because he feels like he can't provide. So I was going to leave. I was just going to go back home and take classes in Nashville for a semester.

But the power of the Almighty was working on different plan.

I had sat at His feet many times, BEGGING for a way to pay. Mostly because I didn't want to hear the pain in my dad's voice anymore. I didn't want to receive another text from my mom saying "we managed to scrape up $80 that we're going to put towards Harding."
So I kept praying. I kept fasting. I kept telling my community that I needed their prayers. And I kept trying to keep my faith strong, keep my heart from any moment of doubt. But it was becoming difficult as the days drew nearer to Monday, the day I was supposed to register for classes. My anguish was evident and my heart was weary.
Monday rolls around, and I am doing my best to keep my chin up. I knew that God had a plan, but of what? I went to check my mail after lunch and nearly fell out when I received (yet another) letter saying the hold on my account was about $2300 (I thought it was more like $2100). Walking back to my dorm, I was angry.

Until I checked my phone.

"The hold is removed from your business office. Anonymous payment was made-you have $165 left to pay."



And He has still left me nearly speechless, in awe, completely enraptured by His power.