Haley and the Navy Blue Dress

 In less than 2 weeks, my firstborn will be getting married. Final preparations are underway. Rehearsal dinner menu has been set. The boys have been fitted for their tuxes. Madison has her bridesmaid dress. All of the details are coming together.
Things have been really tight financially so I've picked up extra hours and had generous people help with some of the expenses. I've been to several local thrift stores over the past couple of weeks searching for a dress for myself. I found lots of beautiful dresses, but unfortunately I had no luck finding a dress that I liked in my size. So today I decided to head out to the mall to see what I could find.
​I walked into JC Penney and found a beautiful black evening gown in my size. It wasn't the color that I really wanted but I figured that it would be a great option if I couldn't find one that I could afford in the color that I wanted. And since it was a $150 dress on clearance for $10, I couldn't pass it up. So I bought the black dress and continued shopping. I went to store after store. I found lots of beautiful dresses but nothing that fit in my budget.
​I was beginning to accept the fact that the beautiful black dress would be the one I would wear on my son's special day. As I made my way through the mall, I visited one last store.....Elder Beerman. I almost didn't even go in because I was doubtful that I would find anything within my budget.
As I looked through the dresses, I found a few that I liked but the price tags were scary. And then on the sale rack, a beautiful navy blue floor length dress caught my eye. It had a lace top and a beautiful satin belt. I held my breath as I looked at the tag. It was my size and the price wasn't too scary. After the discounts, it would be just a little more than I had planned to spend but I knew I had to try it on. 
​As I stood in the dressing room looking at my reflection in the mirror, I knew that this was the dress. This was what I was supposed to wear as I celebrated my son's special day.
So God and I had a little conversation. I told him that I loved the dress and that I was grateful to have found it but I was a little uneasy about going over my budget. I asked him if he could please make the dress have a deeper discount than what the price tag said. But if not that was OK too. 
​I took the dress to the counter to pay for it. The associate told me that it was past time for her lunch break so I would need to go the counter in a different department to pay for the dress. Not great customer service but that's a story for another day.
​I went to the next department, and approached the counter. A young associate named Haley was happy to help me. As she rang up the dress, she asked me if I had any coupons today. When I told her that I did not, she pulled out her phone and said I think I can get one on the app that will work for this purchase. She scanned it and saved me $30!!! That may not sound like a lot to others, but to a single mom on an extremely tight budget it's a big deal. I thanked her and told her how much I appreciated her going above and beyond. She smiled and acted like she was just doing her job. She thanked me for shopping and told me to have a great day. 
​As I left the counter, I was smiling through the tears. I was in awe but not totally surprised. God used Haley to let me know that he sees and he cares about every detail in my life. Even down to the color of dress that I was looking for. He made sure that the "past my lunch break" associate sent me to Haley's counter. I can't say for certain but something tells me that she wouldn't have cared about going above and beyond like Haley did. ​On the way to the car, God and I had another conversation. 
​Today was a beautiful reminder that no matter what happens in my life, God is just a whisper away. With each answered prayer, He shows me how deeply he loves me. And even though I am now a Solo Mom, I can say with confidence that I never walk alone. Never once had God left me to figure things out on my own. He is faithful to meet me where I am and provide my every need. Sometimes that's giving me peace amidst the chaos and other times it's a navy blue dress.