18%

I have no idea if you all do this but part of my relationship with God has to do with bargaining. If you will do this goes my prayer then I am supposed to do thaat. Such as...
If you help us with this then that means we have to do this...Direction Bargain
If I hear this song then I know you are thinking of me...Love Bargain etc. As I do it...I reprimand myself for the foolishness of it all but I do it anyway. It is the whole fleece thing which I know many many people do as they try and make sure that the direction they are going in is the direction they are supposed to be going in.
We have been waiting on the hospital to make a decision about the stack of money we owe them. It has been a six month process so there has been a lot of time to get really creative in the bargaining prayer department. It goes like this...So God, if you get them to forgive the whole debt then we will know for sure we are supposed to go on the mission field again. This is a win win for me...BUT then I think, well, I really want to be with Mijo as she finishes High school rather then send her to boarding school...so I have changed the request to ..If we get the debt forgiven we should stay here...Can you see how silly it all is to bargain with God about ANYTHING. I am so fickle and unsure and silly. Silly is a great word.
SO yesterday after all these bargaining prayers...the hospital comes back with, we will give you 18% off on your bill. WHAT DO YOU DO WITH THAT ? I had to laugh which I did and have done quite often since. Nothing like a weird number to signify absolutely nothing.
So now what...what exactly am I trusting in God for...debt forgiveness, bank loan, ability to pay the bill without going into debt, FFA to take responsibility...I have no idea. I just smile at all the contortion I have gone through to get God to do what I want Him to do...like He is Santa Clause.
18% of the answer , I think it is 100% of what I needed. Life is always 18% of what we expect. A strange mixture of hope, dreams and reality all mixed together. God does not play games...He isn't a slot machine where all we have to do is put in the right prayer change and hope for the jack pot. I know He is not a formula to figure out...
This I have learned in this 18% answer to prayer.