MR. SELF FORGOT - SHORT-TERM MEMORY LOSS By Gale W. Maiden One of the most exciting aspects of being a son of God is the amazing and various ways in which our Heavenly Father communicates. Most of my walk with God for the past ten years has been inundated with dreams. There have been visions, impressions in my heart and many symbolic incidents which I knew was God speaking to me. We know that God writes Himself upon our hearts and that we can search our hearts and find His gentle and loving voice. This past week, the Lord spoke to me concerning the sureness of His provision. Note the play on words and names as this true work related incident speaks prophetically a message of encouragement to my heart and to your heart. PROVISION CALLS This visitation of God began with a phone call to my Land Surveying business about mid-morning on Monday, June 6, 2009. A very nice lady introduced herself as Mrs. Self, the wife of Mr. Self. Mrs. Self said that she was calling in behalf of her husband Mr. Self. Mrs. Self began to expound on their need for a survey. She indicated that possibly their neighbor had encroached upon their land. She wanted an estimate of the cost of the surveying which I gave her at that time. Mrs. Self told me that Mr. Self was away momentarily and that she would convey the estimate and that Mr. Self would respond. Mrs. Self then began to warn me that Mr. Self was experiencing  short-term memory loss. Mr. Self called about an hour later leaving a message on my voice mail asking me to be available at 12 noon to talk by phone concerning the survey. Mr. Self did not forget to call. At exactly 12 noon the phone rang and Mr. Self explained that Mrs. Self had conveyed the estimate and that I had permission to go ahead with the survey. We set a time to meet to do the survey. WORK BEGINS FOR MR. & MRS. SELF I immediately went on the Wilkes County, North Carolina GIS Tax website accessing information pertaining to this property survey in preparation for a visit to the job site. About an hour later Mr. Self called saying that he had someone else to do the surveying. Because of Mrs. Self’s warning concerning Mr. Self’s short-term memory loss, I thought that possibly Mr. Self had forgotten that he had hired me. I said to Mr. Self that I appreciated his kind consideration and to please call again. I then thought that it might be wisdom to call back and talk to Mrs. Self. I called and thankfully she answered. She apologized for Mr. Self and admitted that she wasn’t quite sure what had transpired. I thanked her also for considering ARC Surveyors to do their work. THINGS DO NOT HAPPEN BY ACCIDENT TO CHILDREN OF THE KINGDOM OF GOD After this call I found myself frustrated and curious as to why I had lost this job. I asked the Lord to explain this incident. I immediately heard in my spirit the potential client’s last name Self and the phrase short-term memory. This voice reminded me that Mr. Self is not my provider but that God alone is my provider. This voice next brought to my remembrance the fact that God had never failed to provide 100% of my needs. I was being diagnosed by Doctor Jesus as having a condition called self and a spiritual short-term memory loss. REPENTANCE BRINGS PROVISION I was totally convicted by this “God” incident. I well know that frustration, anger or self-pity will not move God to provide. Our loving God provides for His children because we are His children. I repented of my frustration and thanked God for His never ending provision. I really felt excited that God had loved me enough to convict me with this incident and that by His grace I was empowered to repent. As I continued to ponder the wonder of God’s ways I had the thought to ask God to place a “little icing on this cake.” I said, “Lord, since I have repented would you have Mr. Self call back and give me this surveying job?” Not more than 5 minutes after this conversation, the phone rang. Would you like to guess who was calling? Yes, Mr. Self (himself) called and said, “Mr. Arc (this is my business name and Mr. Self thinks that Arc is my name), would you come tomorrow morning and do my survey?” Without soliciting an explanation I replied ecstatically, “Yes, I will!” CONCLUSION I am writing this article three days later. The job is finished and I have been paid in full. Glory to God!