Due to the fact that so many of my blog posts have to do with money and my sincere desire not to have that be the focus of my life, I decided that I didn’t really want to write any more on this subject.  At least that’s what I decided, in my pride, because of fear of what people will think if I keep talking about it. Well, this morning I awoke with a sense that if I don’t talk about it I will not be sharing what an amazing God we belong to and the personal way that he works in our life right now.  So here it is, a blog entry that has to do with money. I hope you will marvel at God’s absolute sovereignty when you are done reading.

A brief background is in order before I begin. We have lived in this new place for 9 months. We moved because we felt a clear call from God. The rent we pay is almost triple what our mortgage was where we lived before. The job my husband took has brought in very little income. In fact, the last few months have brought in a whopping nothing. This month he took an additional job, which barely covers just our rent.  Despite this we have always been able to pay our bills on time and have, over and above, what we need provided on a consistent basis.  But you must understand that, in my mind, getting the rent covered is a very basic and real need. We need $1300 each month to cover this expense. You can assume that we are starting from zero each month because that’s the kind of life we are living right now. So, here’s my story of one month’s rent.

About the second week into a month I begin to figure out in my head whether we have enough to cover the rent for next month.  All money that comes in, from this week on, goes toward that expense until it is covered. It’s not really so much of a worry as it is a practicality of life.

On Sunday our church administrator handed us $100 that was anonymously given to him for us.

On Monday night some friends of ours, from where we lived before, stopped in to see us briefly.  They put a check for $200 in my hand.

On Wednesday my husband brought home his first paycheck from his new job. It was $600.

On Thursday we headed to Iowa to attend a CD release party.  My children had the privilege of singing on a children’s CD recorded by good friends of ours who are in a full time music ministry.  They really wanted all of the kids who were on the CD to be at the party and so they even gave us money for gas to get there. (This is what happens when you are in this financial state, all of your friends know that in order for you to do most anything they have to pay for it – humbling yes, but humbling is good☺) Some friends of ours, who live in the town we had moved from (Humboldt), had parked their mini van at our house while they were away on a trip because we live so close to the airport. (We often have people do this in order to save parking fees.) When they left they gave us permission to use their van as much as we wanted. The wheels in my kid’s heads began turning immediately and they wondered if we could take the van to Iowa. We have just one car and although it’s a good car it is pretty crowded for the three of them in the backseat when we take longer trips.  Riding in a van would be a treat for them. So we asked our friends and they gave us the ok to take their van on this 3½ hour trip.  About 20 minutes from our destination my daughter recognized a vehicle belonging to a friend of ours who had also moved from Humboldt. We had not seen him in almost a year.  So, we slowed down and pulled in front of him.  Because we were driving our friend’s van he saw the Humboldt license plates and wondered if he knew who was in front of him. He sped up and saw us. So on a lone stretch of highway in Iowa he and my husband were trying to yell at each other through open windows.  We told him where we were headed and he asked us to follow him.  He led us to the house we were going to and as he got out of his vehicle to greet us he put an envelope in my husband’s hand.  The envelope simply said “Lord bless you” and it contained four $100 bills.

Did you do the math?  Just in this last week we received $1,300!

The last part of this provision is so amazing to me. How did our friend just happen to have an envelope with $400 in it? How did he decide to give it to us? We haven't  talked to him for a long time so he would not have known our need. We had not planned to meet and the chances of that just happening are very non-existent. If you heard the story of where he was coming from and how he came to be driving on that road at just that time it would make the story even more incredible but much too long. Let’s suffice it to say that if we had tried to plan meeting up with him it wouldn’t have happened. It reminds me of the time Jesus sent Peter out to catch a fish and then Peter pulled a coin out of the fish’s mouth to have just what they needed to pay a tax that was due.  Only a sovereign God who controls the lives of everyone could pull something like this off.

Yes, I am very grateful that we head into next month knowing our rent is covered. I am more grateful however for a God that is so personal and intimate that he carefully crafts events like this so that we can see a glimpse of his awesome power.  Things like this have happened to us over and over. What a good, generous, and awesome God we have the joy of belonging to because Jesus made peace with him on our behalf.  He is worthy of our worship and amazement of all that he is and all that he has done for us. 

He who did not spare his own Son but gave him up for us all, how will he not also with him graciously give us all things? Romans 8:32

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