u/jpsouthwick7

It was a briefcase.

The date was May 25, 2009 at 4:30 p.m.

I love the outdoors, especially in the summer months. The sun beating down on me, the smell of fresh cut grass, chipmunks chattering and birds chirping their songs; it's just great being outside. I don't like being cooped up inside - it's boring.

That is why I chose to be outside after eight hours of work on May 25, 2009. It was an especially hot day so I grabbed my collapsible chair and set it in the backyard of my apartment, facing the sun. I sat down and closed my eyes allowing the heat of the summer sun to radiate into my being.

My Siberian Husky, Tikaani Jameerah, came along on her dog run and nudged my arm with her wet nose looking for some attention. I opened my eyes, sat up and began petting her and talking in that “doggy talk” to her - “You're such a good girl, aren't you? You're so pretty too. Did you have a good day today?” Her tongue was hanging out the side of her mouth as she sat in rapt attention to my coddling. Then I sat back and closed my eyes again. Tikaani always liked to be where I was so she laid down at my feet.

I don't know how long I was there because the heat from the sun was making me drowsy and I dozed off for a few minutes. I opened my eyes and suddenly I had this thought, this feeling, this urging from deep down inside me to go back inside. I rejected it at first because there would be nothing to do inside and the warming rays of the sun felt so good. But the feeling wouldn't go away. It was bothering me.

So reluctantly I got up and headed back toward my apartment. I looked back, Tikaani was sleeping peacefully beside the chair so I didn't disturb her. When I got inside I wondered, “What am I doing in here. This is so stupid. It's boring in here.” Then the thought came to me that I needed to go out and bring Tikaani in with me. So I went outside, collected my chair and put it back in it's holding bag. I called for Tikaani to follow me inside.

At the door I unhooked her from the lead chain and we went inside. We were inside for no more than a few minutes when suddenly there was a loud *CRAAASH!!!*. I wondered what that was so I peered out the side window and saw a blue station wagon protruding from my next door neighbor's garage. I rushed outside and saw tire tracks through the yard that crossed directly where I had been sitting and Tikaani had been laying.

If I had still been there I wouldn't have seen it coming because my eyes were closed and I was facing away from the direction it came and it would have run me over or carried me into the garage with it. If I hadn't gone back out to get Tikaani she would have been crushed under it's wheels.

I truly believe it was God who put that urgency in my heart to go inside and to go back and get my dog. If I hadn't listened to that still small voice I know I'd be dead, paralyzed, or severely injured.

I worked for an apartment rental company from 2014-2018. One of my tasks was to get apartments ready for rerent after they have been vacated. One snowy and cold winter night after a long day of work at one such apartment I returned home and began emptying my pockets so I could toss my work pants in the hamper. I pulled everything out and something was missing. The keys! To the apartment! I was going to need them so I could continue working there the next day.

I checked the pants pockets again. A second time. A third. I checked my coat pockets. I grabbed a flashlight and checked all around the inside of my vehicle. I checked the ground outside my vehicle. I checked and rechecked the path from my vehicle to the trailer. Nada! “Where could they be?”

I remembered stopping at a store on my way home from work. Did they fall out of my pocket in the parking lot? I drove the seven miles back into town. I checked all around where I had parked earlier. Nope, not there. Anxiety was building. I stopped and prayed, “God, You know where the keys are. Please tell me where they are.”

I felt Him telling me to go to another property that I had been to that day. This property sits on a main highly traveled state route. Now remember, it's snowy. This is important. I went to the property and looked around the inside of the house. Nada. I walked back and forth along the driveway. Still nothing. Were they buried under the freshly fallen snow? Anxiety had already built to frustration. “God, where are they?” I prayed out loud.

The following back and forth conversation with God took place:

“Go look on the side of the road.”

“They can't be there. The plow trucks have already been by several times.”

“GO LOOK ON THE SIDE OF THE ROAD!”

“Okay, but they're not going to be there.”

I walked up to the side of the road with flashlight in hand, cars driving by … whoosh … whoosh-whoosh … I'm not finding them. “See God, I told You they aren't he--” And then I saw a glimmer of pink under the snow. The key fob! I reached down and pulled up the keys I was looking for. “Thank You God! Thank You, thank You, thank You. You're awesome!”

What's so amazing is that the plow trucks HAD already been by and missed the keys. God knew where they were the entire time and protected them from being plowed away. Not only did God know my need, He heard my prayers AND He spoke to me.

This is not the first time God has come through for me, heard my prayer and told me what to do to get the result I needed. (Hebrews 4:16)

I worked for an apartment rental company from 2014-2018. One of my tasks was to get apartments ready for rerent after they have been vacated. One snowy and cold winter night after a long day of work at one such apartment I returned home and began emptying my pockets so I could toss my work pants in the hamper. I pulled everything out and something was missing. The keys! To the apartment! I was going to need them so I could continue working there the next day.

I checked the pants pockets again. A second time. A third. I checked my coat pockets. I grabbed a flashlight and checked all around the inside of my vehicle. I checked the ground outside my vehicle. I checked and rechecked the path from my vehicle to the trailer. Nada! “Where could they be?”

I remembered stopping at a store on my way home from work. Did they fall out of my pocket in the parking lot? I drove the seven miles back into town. I checked all around where I had parked earlier. Nope, not there. Anxiety was building. I stopped and prayed, “God, You know where the keys are. Please tell me where they are.”

I felt Him telling me to go to another property that I had been to that day. This property sits on a main highly traveled state route. Now remember, it's snowy. This is important. I went to the property and looked around the inside of the house. Nada. I walked back and forth along the driveway. Still nothing. Were they buried under the freshly fallen snow? Anxiety had already built to frustration. “God, where are they?” I prayed out loud.

The following back and forth conversation with God took place:

“Go look on the side of the road.”

“They can't be there. The plow trucks have already been by several times.”

“GO LOOK ON THE SIDE OF THE ROAD!”

“Okay, but they're not going to be there.”

I walked up to the side of the road with flashlight in hand, cars driving by … whoosh … whoosh-whoosh … I'm not finding them. “See God, I told You they aren't he--” And then I saw a glimmer of pink under the snow. The key fob! I reached down and pulled up the keys I was looking for. “Thank You God! Thank You, thank You, thank You. You're awesome!”

What's so amazing is that the plow trucks HAD already been by and missed the keys. God knew where they were the entire time and protected them from being plowed away. Not only did God know my need, He heard my prayers AND He spoke to me.

This is not the first time God has come through for me, heard my prayer and told me what to do to get the result I needed. (Hebrews 4:16)