“Do not be afraid, little flock, for your Father has been pleased to give you the kingdom. Sell your possessions and give to the poor. Provide purses for yourselves that will not wear out, a treasure in heaven that will never fail, where no thief comes near and no moth destroys. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.” Luke 12:32-34
At the beginning of the week Chad and I felt blessed. We didn’t have any outstanding bills and the fridge was stocked with groceries. Chad worked Monday and Tuesday at a church in Norman resealing a concrete floor, earning us enough money to keep gas in the car.
Last night at dinner we had our nightly dinner guest. The little boy from across the way came in and took his place at the table. After dinner the boys went out to play. They came right back in with friends and said, “the kids were wondering if you were going to make cookies tonight?”
We had cooked all the cookie dough, but still had a case of applesauce from Sam’s which we handed out until it was all gone. Finally at around 8:00, we had to lock our door to slow what had been a constant stream of children all evening.
This morning the weatherman was calling for storms about the time we would be teaching this afternoon. Even if we wanted to brave the storm we had no food or anything else for the kids. I was doing good to make lunches for the boys to take to school.
Needless to say we were generally discouraged. It would be nice to wake up and have everything in order to do all the “great” things we want to do. It would certainly be easier to give food away if we knew how it was going to be replaced, and to spend time in preparation instead of worrying.
I took the boys to school and prayed all the way home. Chad had a meeting with a pastor in town and I stayed home with Ruby to get our house in order.
The pastor Chad met with said he would call Chad later with some news. On our way to pick up the boys from school he called and said their church wanted to pay our rent for the month of May. This was a huge encouragement and burden lifted off of both of us! Our apartment has become a place of ministry and we’re thankful for it!
We came home from school and I went straight to the kitchen to make brownies. I thought, even though we weren’t able to have Bible Club across the street we could have afterschool snacks for the kids in our complex.
Just then my phone rang. It was a friend from Amarillo who moved to Oklahoma City not long before we did. She asked how we were doing and said, “I’ve been blessed with some extra money and the Lord laid you on my heart.” She followed it up by saying, “You’re not discouraged are you?”
I told her we had cancelled tonight, but were going to do what we could. She said, “Why don’t you come over here and visit with me for a while. I want to give you something.”
SO. . .I did. I got back in the car and noticed we had just enough time to make it to Sam’s, buy some food and candy and get to the apartments on time.
So . . . that’s what we did. Chad went to our apartment and loaded up our equipment. I went to Sam’s. We had great food for the kids and still had enough money left over to fill up the tank in our car and buy groceries for ourselves.
Chad and I pray everyday for God to bless in abundance so we can be a blessing. We know God can and is making a way to do great and mighty things through us. Right now we’re learning to trust.
To follow the Lord’s principle of giving in Luke 6:38 takes courage! “Give, and it will be given to you. A good measure, pressed down, shaken together and running over, will be poured into your lap. For with the measure you use, it will be measured to you.”
Obeying God’s principle of giving is the only way to realize His eternal rewards. While we work towards to "big picture" for Truth Baptist Church we realize it requires a daily dependence of our Heavenly Father. We have committed to working as hard as we can and using the resources God provides each day as far as they go. To be faithful with as much or as little as He sees fit to bless us with.
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