In my evening class, there is a young woman from Mexico who is here working as a research assistant in plant biology. She came here only one month ago, so everything is new to her here. Last week as I walked out of the building, I noticed she was getting on her bicycle.
So last night thinking about a few needs she could have I did two things. One was to ask a few of the women in class, one from Cuba and one from El Salvador, if she could contact them for a ride if the weather is bad. They agreed and exchanged phone numbers. The other thing was to ask her if she has a bicycle helmet showing her pictures of them.
Further into her future time in my city the concern of being ready for winter came to mind. So I asked her if she had winter clothing. I am sure that sounded strange on a hot Nebraska July day, but knowing what is only four or so months away, I wanted to know. One of the women told her that she can help her go shopping.
Interacting with my student last night caused me to remember my habit of looking at the feet of my refugee students starting in October. The reason is that I want to observe if they are still wearing flip flops or sandals. If they are, I ask them privately if they have shoes out of a desire to make sure they are ready for cold weather.
Having taught and befriended people from many countries in my city over the past twenty three years, I know what to anticipate as possible needs they might have.
God knows what our needs are. He knows all of our needs. He knows our future. Jesus taught us that in Matthew 6:8:
Do not be like them, for your Father knows what you need before you ask him.
God knows before we ask. But he still wants us to ask. Asking him is for our benefit not his. It helps us to grow in our relationship with God. It is comforting to realize God knows before we ask.
Thank you for reading. God Bless.
Jesusluvsall's Blog 
I’m confident that your keen eye has helped many people!
Thank you Barb. How many little ones have you noticed need help?
It breaks my heart every time 💔.
BUT
When we find a way to meet the need I rejoice!
I am thankful for people like you, when we first came to this journey in one of the snowiest cities, I was thankful for the people the Lord placed in our lives, who preempted our needs
That would big a huge change for you to come to upstate New York from a place where it never snows.
That first year was so very hard 🙂
Now you love winter ❄️ and snow ❄️❄️❄️❄️❄️
I do 🥰🥰
As we allow God to care for us and we maintain our relationship with Him we do better than by noticing our interactions and relationships with others and ways to serve them. A two way blessing!!
Great post!!
Thank you little sister. You are a blessing 😊
Thank you! You are as well!!
Matt, your discussion takes me back to my final years of teaching in Columbus’ urban setting. When winter began to gather up and share its cold, many students would come to school without a proper winter coat. We were blessed with community assistance in helping out with this need.
Community assistance is so valuable
That is so thoughtful of you. I am so glad that is how God looks out for us.
God is always looking out for us 😊
You are behaving like a mother lol….anyway thank you for showing your students the love of Christ 😍
Or a papa lol