How Much Does God Love You?

It's Christmas morning, and the children tear into their presents. Everyone gleefully runs to various stations in the house, dumping their goods before them, ready to play.

Much to his dismay, my middle son discovers he is missing a packet of Legos needed to build his new Frigate. After he's dumped packets two through six onto the tabletop. Mommy that I am, I heroically repackage the Legos, grab my car keys, and head off to Walmart with the intent to make his day and exchange for a new set.

Alas, Walmart is closed for the holiday. I thank God that stores in the South are family-driven rather than finance-driven and have given their employees the day to be with their families and celebrate my Savior's birth.

Caleb cries when I reveal that he will need to wait one more day to build with his Legos. Numerous times I hear, "I'm bored. I have nothing to do. Why can't you take it someplace else and get the new set?" I try hard to soothe frayed nerves and promise to make the exchange first thing the day after Christmas.

True to my promise, I head off to Walmart this morning. First thing. Before coffee. Before breakfast. On my way out the door, hubby calls out, "Bring home some food too!" We've run out of cereal, milk, sandwich meats, and some other items. I consider our bank account, which has money in it but checks written against the funds. Maybe they won't clear until Friday. I hate doing that, Lord.

I have been young, and now am old;
Yet I have not seen the righteous forsaken,
Nor his descendants begging bread.
He is ever merciful, and lends;
And his descendants are blessed.
~ Psalm 37:25-26

I step out the front door into the pouring rain. Lord, I'm so sick of the rain. I miss the sunshine.

Twenty minutes later, I stand before the customer service representative, mouth agape. "Really?"

"Yes. They always mark them down after the holidays. You're getting a refund."

The store had marked the Lego set down 50 percent. I testify to five women. "God loves me."

The refund gave me just enough money to purchase the food I'd planned to buy.

I smile as I shop, and my cashier is the one woman who smiled when I testified of God's goodness. She acknowledges the blessing once again.

As I step out of the store, the sun beams down from heaven. God smiles upon me once more.

How much does God love you? Think of the little ways He shows His love in your life. One friend survived a tornado this Christmas. One has won a court battle. One has welcomed a baby into their arms. My son has seen how God works even in the disappointments of the day.

Thank You, Lord, for Your provision. Thank You for having a perfect plan, even in the midst of the disappointments of life. Thank You for caring enough for me to send Your only begotten Son to bring salvation. I love You, Lord and will continue to do so in the midst of all of my circumstances. In Jesus' name, Amen.

Not Enough Money to Go Around

(Disappointment Part Two)

"I can't seem to get a break."
"When it rains, it pours."
"Where's my blessing?"
"I've done everything I know I'm supposed to do, so why can't I catch a break?"

Have you ever uttered one of these quips about the drudgery of everyday life and financial hardship? I know I have.

But I've also learned some things about God in the midst of these disappointments, as well.

It seems many are facing financial hardship lately. Whether it's the gas prices, the grocery prices, the lack of income, or the quality (or lack thereof) of our vehicles, our economy doesn't seem to balance. And it's usually in the red.

I've been known to break into the piggy bank when this occurs. But I shouldn't have to, right? Because, after all, God promises...

"Therefore I say to you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink; nor about your body, what you will put on. Is not life more than food and the body more than clothing?
For after all these things the Gentiles seek. For your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things." ~ Matthew 6:25,32

My husband worked as a union carpenter for the first ten years of our marriage. Work was on-again, off-again. He'd work overtime during the summer and be laid off most of the winter. Eventually, the economy started to spiral downhill, and work became even more scarce. What was God's plan?

The word says that God's children will not beg bread. Yet we found ourselves constantly struggling to stay afloat financially. When he had work, we dug out of the hole we'd gotten into during his layoff season. Just as we'd crest the top of the hole, he'd get laid off again.

And since 1998, we'd heard prophecy after prophecy of him becoming a company man with a steady income. We'd heard that we would lack for nothing. Which lines up with God's word, but we weren't seeing it.

So where was this blessing God had been promising?

Ten years into our marriage, the economy would tank. But God...

God had another plan. One we'd anticipated for ten years with no sign of it in sight.

2008. Memorial Day weekend. Vic had been laid off from his last union job over the winter. He'd gone out searching for work and had landed two gigs working nuclear power plant shutdowns. It was the first time I'd ever let him work a job away from home. Each of them lasted about a month. But the security clearance he'd gotten in order to work them would prove to be part of God's plan.

Vic had been out of work for around five weeks and tired of waiting for another union call. He asked me to pull out the box he'd brought back from his last job. The same box I'd packed a brand new cell phone in to ship him a month before. Nothing else went into that box. Just a cell phone. Now it held slips of paper and receipts that he'd obtained while at the job. He wanted the phone numbers he'd taken down so he could call the guys for job leads.

Their numbers were nowhere to be found. But in that box was a slip of paper from a company he'd worked for five years prior to that particular weekend. A paper that had been in a file folder in the filing cabinet for the past five years. One I never put in that box. One he never took with him. He looked at me funny and decided to call it.

"You're like an angel!" The un-churched man on the other end of the phone proclaimed to my husband. "I need more men. Can you be in Alabama on Tuesday?"

My husband looked at me, and I shrugged. Why not? We needed the income. Maybe God is in this.

We took my husband's $400 unemployment check, which had just come in, and packed him up and sent him off to Alabama. Mobile, Alabama. On Memorial Day weekend. The kids and I stayed in NY, and I kept working at the bank.

Until a month later, when the company hired him full-time, on salary, with benefits. God's plan unfolded.

My husband went from carpenter to field engineer. He no longer worked with his brawn. Now he worked with his brain. This blessed him, as the carpentry work had begun taking its toll on his body. He'd had surgery on both his knees, which had blown out at work.

Within two months, Vic had been promoted to Lead Engineer. There were guys he worked with who'd been waiting years for that position. God had a plan.

The kids and I packed up and moved to Alabama July 4th weekend. We'd made the decision it was important to keep our family together as God moves Vic around.

Since then, we've been able to pay off a few debts, as well as make our payments on time. Do we still struggle? From time-to-time. But not as often as we used to. 

If there's anything I've learned, it's that God does provide, and He does keep His word. It's up to us to believe He'll do what He says He'll do. It's up to us to have faith in Him. It's up to us to put our feet to our faith. We can't expect the blessing to fall from the sky or to grow on a tree. We need to trust God at His word and do the work it takes to see it come to pass. 

My husband could have sat back and waited all those years, expecting God to do His part. But my husband understood that he had to do his part, too. He looked for the open door, rather than waited on it.

People tend to ask me why we do what we do. It's because we put God first. When we put God first in all things, including our finances and our careers, He is faithful to provide our needs and our desires. The word says, "Seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you." Matthew 6:33 We step out in faith, because we know God is faithful.

Look for your open door today. Don't sit there waiting for it. Find it. God already placed it before you. It's up to you to take action to see it come to pass. And if it doesn't happen today, well, God's timing is perfect. You'll see.

Photo Courtesy of Michael Connors

 

What to Do When God Disappoints

This week I've heard a lot of talk about disappointment. It seems God isn't coming through for people. Their prayers are going seemingly unnoticed. The answers aren't coming as quickly as they'd expected. Things aren't what they've hoped for. The blessing isn't falling from the sky. And God is silent.

And they want to know why.

In the years that I've come to know Jesus, I've learned that God's silence is a gift.

There was a time in my life when I loved a man. He was tall, dark, and handsome. He treated me well. I spent day-after-day praying that God would bless me with his love and affection.

But there was one mountain standing in the way. Despite the fact that he and his wife had been separated for seven years, their divorce hadn't finalized. He was still a married man. And I had to let go of my desire for him.

The set-up was perfect. He was a Christian man. He loved God with everything inside of him. He was gentle and sweet and seemed to care about me. He loved my parents. My parents loved him. And we'd become really great friends.

But he was still married.

He'd met Jesus as his Lord and Savior after he'd separated from his wife. He followed his pastor's counsel and attempted to get back together with her. He asked her if she was willing to try again. She said no. They proceeded with the divorce. But it took years for it to finalize.

And it took my standing up and doing the right thing in God's eyes. I knew inside of me what was right and that I was wrong in pursuing any relationship with this man. I had to admit it to myself and do what God called me to do in my heart.

I will never forget the day I laid my hopes and dreams aside for God's will. I made a phone call and explained that I could no longer spend time with Prince Charming if he remained married. I explained that I did have feelings for him, but in order to be right with God, I could no longer allow those feelings to rule my heart. God had to come first. I shared with him that I no longer wanted him to come to my house, call me to talk, or invite me out. I knew this would have repercussions on my family, because he considered my father a friend, as well. But it had to be done, and it was the hardest thing I've ever had to do. But I did it. I told him that if he got his divorce and heard from God that I was the one for him, then I'd be happy to hear from him. But until then, please leave me alone.

What I chose to do for God pleased God and won the heart of my Knight in Shining Armor.

I prayed against God's will for four years for a married man. It wasn't until I handed my dream of True Love over to God and made Him the King of My Heart that He would answer it with my heart's deepest desire.

No kidding. Within two weeks of me putting my foot down and seeking righteousness in my heart, his divorce finalized. 

A month later, as I walked past the Chinese restaurant, I noticed his car out front. I took a chance at the prompting of my heart, and I went inside. He invited me to join him, and over small talk, he announced he'd be claiming single on his tax return that year. Although my heart pounded with excitement inside my chest, I acted like I'd let it go over my head. I responded, "That's nice," and continued the conversation. When he offered to drive me to my destination across town, I accepted. When he asked me if he could call me later, I accepted.

Within 24 hours, he'd asked my father and my pastor for my hand in marriage. Within a week, we went out on our one and only official date. We ate dinner. We looked at engagement rings while we waited for our movie. The next week, he came to my parents' after work with a proposal. We were married two and a half months later.

All because I decided to put God first and my dreams second.

Did God answer right away? No. I prayed wrong. Did God answer as I expected Him to? No. His plan was better than mine. Did God give me what I wanted? Not until I got right with Him. Did God come through for me in the end? Of course! Because He knows what's best for me, and He promises to give us the desires of our hearts, if we will just trust in Him.

Photo Courtesy of Canna_W