He Meets Our Needs

Did any of you grow up hearing heart-warming stories about people in financial distress who had mysterious bags of groceries arrive just as they bowed their heads to "say grace" over a meal they didn't have? Or countless tales of anonymous donors putting "just enough money" on someone's school bill to let them come back another semester?

Growing up in an upper middle class home, as I heard those stories, a part of me ached to be in such desparate straits simply so I could see God's hand provide for me that way. Well, financial difficulties aren't as exciting as I once imagined, even when God does provide. But He is faithful.

I started this blog entry last night, not knowing what God would do today, but I'll leave you in suspense on that one--for now. :)

I don't want to get awkwardly personal here, so I won't mention amounts, just portions of my husband's pre-tax weekly income, so you at least understand the significance of the amounts. But to give you somewhat of an idea, we thought money was tight when Jonathan was a pastor, but he actually made the same amount (or close to it) that he does now, while also having a home and utilities provided. Amazing!

I've mentioned previously how God provided a job for me last spring that helped us buy our minivan for cash, so I won't go into details about that, here. Those blessings are still fresh in my mind, but since we left Gillet last June, here are some of the main ups and downs we've experienced, financially:

• Jonathan found a job here in Madison within a week of looking in July.
• He was led to believe he'd get a raise, about the time Joshua was due in October, meaning about an extra week's pay, each month.
• With most apartments in Madison requiring a year's lease, we were glad to find a great sublet situation in which we got our first month's rent for free and only had to commit to a 5-month lease, starting in December. (We think God may have detoured us to Tucson just so we would wait for this apartment to come available!)
• When Jonathan's raise still hadn't gone through, we neared the end of January wondering how we could possibly make our budget (yes, we really have one and keep track of receipts!) work. We decided it was impossible and increased our energy going toward applying for jobs for him around Madison, in addition to the church search.
• We found a part-time nanny job listed on Craigslist, but that didn't turn out. We were asked to do some odd jobs for the family, though, which included clearing out a basement and removing many sallable goods. We were paid to do this and then sell the items and keep that money, too. (This amounted to an extra weeks' pay.)
• To end January, we received a surprise check from a family member for about a half week's pay.
• In February, Jonathan was able to put in some overtime, which was like getting another half week's pay.
• After many attempts at finding legitimate freelance writing jobs, I received two inquiries within two days, last week. In another week, with commitments already in place, I will have made an extra half-week's pay.
• The day after I received those jobs, we had to sign a 3-month lease extension, which would mean higher rent, starting in May (about 1/10 of a week's pay). That was discouraging, but less so with the writing jobs starting to come.
• This past Sunday, it seemed like my writing money would be used for something not-so-savory: someone smashed the window of our van, requiring about 75% of a week's pay to fix it.
• Monday we received notification in the mail that we would be receiving help for our utilities that would basically make up for the amount we paid to replace the window.
• Today (drum roll, please!) we found out that we'll be getting money back from taxes, to the tune of about 10x's a week's pay!

It doesn't make sense that we're not in debt, we're nearly making budget, and we're about to have more in the bank than we did when we left Gillett. I'm not saying that to brag on us, but to praise my God who truly does provide!

A Lamp to My Feet

Okay, so I have a little list of things I've been learning lately, and I'm somewhat randomly choosing from my list as I post. Anyhow, I realize that the last two have been a little on the negative side, so I'm going to try to balance it out a bit.

While in some ways, the past year has held more hard times than any other year of my life, it has also held more clear direction and divine provision in such a short period of time than I have othewise enjoyed. As I write that, I am reminded that provision can be appreciated only when there is a lack, and direction when there is uncertainty. If you look back to Genesis, there is a pattern begun of a place for something and then a filling of it--land before animals, sky before the sun, water before fish. Just the same, there must be a void before fulfillment can be made. But I digress.

As far as direction goes, Proverbs says God's Word is a "lamp to our feet." How many times do we expect it to be a million candle-power shine, but that's not what He promises, is it? Let me give you one recent example. Instead of praying specifically for what I really wanted (!) I prayed instead for wisdom in deciding. It was early- to mid-August, and we had no good contacts with churches. I was convinced it would be easier to move big and preggo than with a small baby, but my husband is working through a temp agency and won't be potentially hired on directly until after the baby comes. Until then, his pay makes renting even a 2-bedroom apartment quite a stretch--or so we thought--never mind the idea of signing a lease agreement when we hope to be moving out of state before 6 or 12 months would be up.

But then I came across something on Craigslist that looked reasonable, and it could be even more reasonable if we were willing to take care of the property--no problem! Jonathan had an extra day off for Labor Day weekend, so we were hoping somehow we could move out of my parents' house by then.

I went to our church's Wednesday night prayer meeting and shared a general request for wisdom in making a decision regarding our living situation. But with the woman who prayed with me, I shared more detail. Thursday came, and I still had not received a response from the one who'd posted the apartment ad. I looked it up again, and noticed something I couldn't believe I'd overlooked before--the move-in date desired was October 1! (Our baby is due October 2, so I'm pretty sure that would not be a wise week to move.) The same day, we received a packet from a church saying they wanted it returned to them before August 31, as they would be reviewing potential candidates' information before then and making contact with their #1 pick on that day. Well, by August 31, it would be a bit late to be making a commitment to move Labor Day weekend. It seemed we had our answer. But there's more.

Even in my elation over such clear direction, I was a bit put off. Originally, we had decided Labor Day would be the last weekend we could possibly travel to visit a church before the baby is born. We were hopeful that we would be at that point, but no. Then we were hoping to move, but no. I privately asked God to give us something to anticipate that weekend, and He gave me two! We were asked to housesit for a couple in our church from Thursday through Monday (a whole house all to ourselves!), and some friends asked if we'd like to meet up with them in Madison on Labor Day--of course we would!

Other examples include the following--

• A friend's wedding being rescheduled from May to August, requiring us to change our plans to attend Family Camp from August to June--the week after God knew we'd be moving in with Mom and Dad and needing that spiritual refreshment (never mind Jonathan's not having to take off work at a new job)
• Being anonymously givin a good chunk of money last fall, which enabled us to update our technology--something that has proven invaluable in pursuing possible pastoral positions for Jonathan
• Having what was advertised as a 3-hour-per-week job turn out to be a 30-hour-per-week commitment for 4 months (something we would have never decided on my applying for if it had been made clear from the beginning), allowing us to save up the remaining amount needed to trade in our medium-sized sedan (that wouldn't fit two car seats in back with a tall Daddy and Mommy in front!) for a new-to-us minivan

All three of those things were provided before we knew we would be moving--but our God knew and provided even before we had an inkling of our need. What a mighty God we serve!