free coffee and good news

God is good. do you know that? this morning something good happened that i was not expecting. yesterday i got an email from starbucks that said they were hosting a "coffee break" this morning from 10-12, and if you came in, they'd give you a free tall drip coffee. i don't normally go to starbucks, but i thought, "hey, free coffee!" so i went in.
while i was doctoring my verona blend, i ripped the plastic top. so, i went back up to the counter to ask for another one, as i've spilled coffee in my car a few too many times already. there was a woman at the counter, and i was surprised to see that it was one of the mothers from my after school program. i said hello, and we started talking.
she started to tell me how much her son loves our program, and especially that he loves his small group leader, who is one of my students at rmu. every week when i pick him up from school, he asks me eagerly if sarah will be there today. the first thing he is does when he gets to the church is run to her room to greet her. this past monday when his mother picked him up, she told us that he won't be able to come anymore, because for the next few months, she's going to be travelling every monday afternoon, and she's unable to pick him up. she was talking to his small group leader about how sad her son is that he won't be able to come, and so sarah offered to drive him home herself every week. and now the little boy is thrilled because he loves sarah, and he gets to keep coming to our after school program. so his mother was thanking me for having it, because it is really making a difference in his life. the other day he said to her, "mommy, i want to give my life to Jesus." he is nine years old. i almost started crying, because it's not very often that i get to see how our work is really making a difference. and she said to me, "thank you so much for doing your program, because he wouldn't have said that if it he wasn't with you."
that little boy surrendered his life to Christ, partly because of the faithfulness of a college student, serving in the local church. through her love and influence, he has decided to live for Jesus. this is exactly what we strive for with the cco, partnering the university with a church, transforming college students to transform the world. this is a success story.
my job is not like other jobs; most days it's hard to see progress, and the work is never finished. it can go on for weeks, and even months, without visible signs of progress or improvement. God calls for faithfulness, even when we can't see the immediate fruits of our labors. but i feel so blessed lately, because God is being so faithful to show me where he is working, and that all my efforts have not been in vain. he is using me, and over the last few weeks, he has allowed me to see little glimpses of his kingdom coming on earth. and not only does he let me be part of it, he lets me see it too. so God, thanks for free coffee, and good news.