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Author
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Topic: The Lord Will Provide
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Betty Louise
Advanced Member
Member # 7175
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posted
thank you for sharing. God is good.
betty
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Luk 21:28 And when these things begin to come to pass, then look up, and lift up your heads; for your redemption draweth nigh.
Posts: 5051 | From: Houston, Texas | Registered: May 2008
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Gwendolen
New Member
Member # 7560
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posted
I am of the mind that life is not a democracy. The Lord is our dictator and “we” His people are on a need-to-know basis. He gives us only the information that is necessary at any given moment. The following story is an example of how the Lord provides only what we NEED.
Christmas is financially difficult for many people. For me, equally so. I share custody of my two boys with their father and as such, we take turns with having our boys present on Christmas morning. 2008 was my year.
I had no idea how I was going to pay for Christmas gifts or even what I was going to buy. With my bank account dangerously close to exceeding overdraft, I looked over the list of people I usually buy for and ripped it up and wrote a new list. I bought for only 5 select people outside my immediate family. It was the only way to make it work and although I felt bad about not buying for some of the people I usually buy for, I felt wonderful about the gifts I did buy. The holidays were great!! Even my sister (with whom I share a terrible rift with) was wonderful! A great start to closing that rift was begun, the food was plentiful and times were joyous!
Christmas morning came and went and so did the family back to their everyday lives. Happy and sad that the joy shared on Christmas lasts for just one day. I too had to face reality as it was brought to my attention that our (my fiancé, Kirk and I) car insurance was due on the 5th of January. Out of concern and curiosity, I called my banks 1-800 number to get my account balance. As it turns out, I was so hard in overdraft at the bank that I only had 2 dollars and some odd cents available for use. I kept this information to myself as I knew that if I told any number of family members they would be really worried. I however, saw some humour in the situation as a few times I bought something before Christmas I was sure my bank card would be declined because of NSF.
So, here we are...it’s Monday morning December 29 and Kirk and I are on our way to our work places and we have some time to talk after the busy hectic holidays. We chat happily about different things and how happy and pleasant everyone was during the dinner. I feel out Kirks mood, and gauge him to be in a good enough mood to ask him how much our insurance payment was. (I was told before but I have a mind like a sifter!) He said he wasn’t really sure either and then wanted to know why I was asking. Not wanting to lie, I simply said because I’m quite sure that there wasn’t enough money to cover the payment so I need to know how much money I needed to put in. I then asked him if he had the chance would he please call our insurance company to find out how much the payment is and what date of the month they try for it (it’s a direct payment). He said that was a question he could answer, he said January 5th. Ok, I thought, I have a week to make the money and get it in the bank, I can relax a little.
My relaxation was interrupted when our truck started to sputter and chug! I thought “Oh, No”! Kirk looked at me and I looked at him and I asked “are we out of gas?” He said “sounds like it” in a very worried voice. Then he asked me if I had any money (I hadn’t given him my account balance). It was at this point I had no choice but to tell him that there was a little over 2 dollars available in the bank. The look of concern in his face was enough to put a little fear in my heart where there had only been mild concern before. Then his expression changed and he explained to me that he did have some gas in a can in the back of the truck that he uses for his chainsaw, if we needed it we could use it to get us to the store where we could ask for some gas on credit. (we don’t like to do that but we know the owners and they wouldn’t mind). We held our breath for a few kilometres and we didn’t run out of gas. Kirk chalked it up to the fact that we were idling a lot and sometimes it chugs a bit when idling. I again, relaxed a bit as we continued to drive. It wasn’t too long before our conversation switched to our dogs (they go to work with Kirk and travel in the truck with us). Kirk told me that they had finished the bag of dog food last night (Sunday night) and so they would go to sleep with no supper if we didn’t get them a bag of dog food today. My heart sank, I still didn’t have any money. Then I remembered that I received a gift certificate for Sobeys for Christmas and would be able to get the dog food with it. I struggled in my seat trying to feel my way through the stuff in my pockets and discovered that I left the gift card at home. Again my heart sank. My mind was going in circles trying to figure out how I was going to be able to pay for all the things we needed. Then I thought about my cats. Where we don’t live at our farm, YET, I asked Kirk if they were out of food too and he said they’d been out for a couple of days. The cats are barn cats and can hunt for food, and we do want them to hunt, I just don’t like them eating their kill. With no money in my pocket and 2 soon-to-be-hungry dogs and 7 already hungry cats, I had no idea what I was going to do. I sat up straight and sighed a big sigh and remembered that I didn’t stress over the lack of money at Christmas and that worked out just fine, so I relaxed a little and placed my mind in a place that I’ve been training my mind to go when things get tough and seem impossible. I repeat to myself...”Trust In The Lord!” I continued repeating this as we pulled into the store parking lot.
While at the store we had our usual coffee and conversation with our friends, past neighbours and the owners of the store. We asked how their Christmas went and they asked about ours. I was in a cheerful mood as my little chant had taken the sadness away and filled me with hope. They too don’t have a lot of money and so understood about how tight things were. I was even able to see a little humour in the situation as I told our friends all about our insurance payment problem, our almost running out of gas problem and our “starving” animal problem. Then the store owner looked at me with a smile and told me that there is the pickle money! (I had made some pickles in the fall and taken a dozen bottles to be sold at the store). She offered to pay me for the 11 bottles that had already been sold. With this bit of good news and the solving of gas money put to rest Kirk and I took our coffees outside to enjoy the beautiful sunny and unusually warm day. While outside I set my mind on the lack of animal food problem. I got it! I’ll just ask for my pay! See, I sit with a wonderful old lady that just lives up the road from the store and although I usually wait till the end of the week to get paid, I can get paid whenever. I also do a lot of driving for my client and it just so happens that she had a doctor’s appointment that day and afterwards would be going to the grocery store where one day’s pay will be more than enough to pick up the dog and cat food I needed. Another problem solved! I was smiling as Kirk gassed up the truck while I waited in the store. Shortly afterwards we were on our way to work.
I arrived at my client’s place happy and ready to face the day. I helped her get ready to leave and asked her about getting paid for today. Her daughter usually puts money in an envelope so her Mother can pick up any groceries that she may need and also to pay me. Today however, her envelope was empty and she only had enough money in her purse to do the little bit of grocery shopping she had to do. I shook my head in disbelief, and wondered about the rest of the day considering it wasn’t even 10:30 in the morning yet. I was once again, humbled as I asked her if she would mind writing me a cheque as I really needed the money today. She gladly wrote me the cheque and we went on with the rest of the day. In the back of my mind, there is still the question of how much money I am going to have to put in the bank to cover the insurance payment. When Kirk comes to pick me up I asked him if he’d had the chance to call the insurance company. He hadn’t, so I’m still in the dark about the amount.
Now it is Tuesday, December 30th. On the way to work, I again ask Kirk to please call the insurance company. He says he’ll try to remember and we go our separate ways. Once again He has forgotten and I feel as if he’s not taking this situation very serious.
Wednesday, New Years Eve day. I wake up with the insurance problem on my mind. While getting ready for work I ask Kirk to make that phone call before we leave. He does so and I find out that our insurance payment is $129.71 per month (it’s very high because we’re classified as new drivers because we haven’t had insurance in over a year). I have the number I need now. On our way to work I figure out that I need more than 2 days pay in order for the payment not to bounce and result in the cancellation of our car insurance. Where I already got paid for Monday, I knew I was going to have to ask for an advance on my pay. I was hoping not to do this, so with a prayer in my heart I called my banks 1-800 number again just to see if by some miracle some money was put into my account (child support, etc...) Unfortunately, instead of an account balance I got a strange message that told me that my request could not be processed. I almost panicked, I immediately thought that the bank had gone in to try to take money out for the service fees and the like and I went over the overdraft and now my account was frozen. I took a few deep breaths and remembered my little chant “Trust In The Lord”. After repeating this a couple of times I asked for the advance and again she gladly gave me the money I needed. We left shortly afterwards and I put the money in the bank using the ATM. When I requested a receipt that would show my account balance, it only had N/A where the balance should be. I just shook my head and thought “this can’t be good”. Either good or bad, I had to know. With receipt in hand I went into the bank and got in line to see a teller. While in line I started planning out what I was going to say if the worst were true and they had seized my account. My turn came around and I simply asked the teller if she could please give me my account balance because there was something wrong with the ATM. She told me she couldn’t give me an account balance either because their computers went down. I sighed a HUGE sigh of relief and asked her if that was why I couldn’t get a balance when I called the 1-800 number and she said yes. She also told me that the computers should probably be up in an hour or two and I could try again later. I thanked her very much and wished her a Happy New Year. I tried the 1-800 number again a few hours later and I did get an account balance but it was the same balance as I had before I put money in. So, I still didn’t know for sure if there was enough money in my account to cover the insurance payment.
I slept on the lack of information. It is now, Wednesday January 1. Because I warned my client that their may be a storm today, I might not be able to go, Kirk woke me only to find a major blizzard with white out conditions, so I slept in. Knowing that I had put some money into my account helped me sleep better and wasn’t the first thing on my mind when I got up. I went about my business and about an hour after I got up I remembered to call the 1-800 number again. Well, the money I put in finally registered at the bank, minus $40.29. Must be those service fees and such, I thought. Another big sigh. Now what am I going to do? I proceed to tell Kirk what was going on when my Mother hears the worry in my voice. I tell her that it would have been fine had I gone to work today. Too late now. Once again I repeat my chant “Trust In The Lord”. My parents are really strapped for cash these days too, but because my Mom wants to help she brings me $30 and asks me if that would work. Tears begin to form in my eyes, and I choke them back and tell her I think so, and thank her. I get out a piece of paper and a pencil, and put my account balance down. $99.71. Then I add the $30 Mom gave me......129.71. I stared at the paper with my writing on it in disbelief. I could hardly believe my eyes. If you remember, my insurance payment per month was $129.71.
How cool is the Lord?
+$30.00=a gift from someone who really can’t afford it
=
$129.71 A modern day miracle and a shining example that the Lord WILL provide only what we need. Not what we want, or what we desire, or what we ask for. Just what we NEED.
Posts: 4 | From: Hampton | Registered: Jan 2009
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