Last Sunday was so hot I took my top off ; off my jeep, that is. I may live in California but  I still ooze with Midwestern blood.

As I  parked my car, a man wheeled up  and asked,”Hey,do you know where I can grab a cup of coffee?”

Throwing on my straw hat, I nodded and said, “Follow me.”

Attempting to wheel up an incline the man said, “Go ahead. I won’t be able to keep up.”

“No worries. I will push you.”

“Wow. So nice of you.”

“No big deal.  I get it. The father of my kids is a paraplegic. ”

I pushed him across the street and we made our way to coffee shop. Over an  ice coffee, he told me his story about becoming homeless and because of the kindness of The Santa Barbara  Mission he is getting back on his feet.

When we both saw the bottom of our coffee, I said, “Hey, I need to get going. I am looking at some homes today.  Maybe looking to move here.”

As we walked away, he said,”I am glad I met you Miss  Lisa. You should move here. You will make friends here since you are kind like the people of Santa Barbara.”

I leaned in to his sweat-soaked shirt and  with a hug said,”Thanks, Steve.”

I straightened my straw hat and turned to walk away when I heard, “Oh hey, Lisa. Thanks for the push.”

With a crooked smirk I said, “Steve,thanks for the push, too.”

Later that day, I met with my real estate agent, Jim Callahan, and his wife Kristin. We saw a house, near the beach but was not my ideal.  I am not sure which one said it  but I do remember one of them saying, “I know you want a house, blocks from the beach but there is a really cute cottage near The Mission. You should check it out.”

….And as if God was sending a sign, BOOM, out of nowhere a microburst storm  hit. Within five minutes, I was soaked looking like a wet rat.  Making my way through flooded and  tree-debris streets,  drenched or not, I felt a tugging or pushing of some sorts, to head to the next open house.

I walked in. A feeling washed over me like a tide pulling me home to shore.   The feeling was unexpected. The house checked no boxes on my spreadsheet but somehow it was everything I wanted. I was… happy.  So the control freak in me, needed to let go of the over-thinking and allow for the gentle tugging to reel me in; or like the homeless man from earlier in the day, wheel me in…

I admit, I am a stubborn German. I think I always know best but maybe it takes a push  or two to free myself and allow my heart to be… Happy.  Thanks to Steve, Jim, and Kristin for the extra push.

“Delight yourself in the Lord, and he will give you your heart’s desire.” Psalm 37:4

And as Paul Harvey always said, “And here’s the rest of the story…” Stay tuned in thirty days for the rest of the story.  Can you be brave enough to let go and allow yourself be happy and listen to what God is whispering or pushing you to do?