Going Out On A Limb

We are in a place of dependency right now.  As my husband has looked for work this week, a few of the "regular" contracts he expected to get did not come through.  Some are just not making orders, some have budget issues and can't spend.  Our main hay customer isn't even buying as he's in the middle of a family crisis.  Fortunately we still have the courses that RM's been writing and he does have a course contract right now, so I praise God for that.  Perhaps that is our manna for the time being.  When I see it like that, I do not feel concern as I know God is going to give and provide just what we need when we need it.  And, each time that he came in this week to describe a different customer who had backed out, I was able to remind him of that.  Manna.  He'll give us manna.  He's taken away what we typically rely on so that we have only Him left.  Complete dependency.

If I was needing encouragement yesterday, I didn't realize it, until I found myself in the middle of a conversation with a new friend.  This young mom has a walk with the Lord that oozes out of her.  She shared a story of God's faithfulness to her and her husband in their finances this week.  I listened with great interest to hear how God had provided in the 11th hour.  Sounded familiar!

Then, she explained how she and her husband had recently gone out on a limb in faith.  I asked if I could share her story as it was so amazing.  She agreed.

Her husband had recently gotten a new job.  With the job came a vehicle which meant they could sell the one he used to drive.  "Perfect," they thought.  They were going to use the money from the sale of the car to pay down their credit card.  Moving forward financially is always a good thing, but then, a prompting....

She has a sister who is married with a young child.  This sister and her husband have only one vehicle.  Because of this she is unable to ever get out to do the things she needs to do like grocery shop or even just visit her mom or her sister until her husband gets home, which is apparently very late at night.  This had led to her feeling very isolated and overwhelmed.  But this sister and her husband are believers and they had begun to pray for a miracle vehicle, that God would just give them one!

Meanwhile, my friend and her husband did not know they were praying this way.  They just knew how she was feeling and wanted to help.  God put it on their hearts to give them their car, for free, no strings attached.  But then, a test.  When her husband got the new job, it was a higher paying job, but the first cheque was not what they had expected as more tax had been taken off.  She looked to her husband, afraid that he might want to back out on giving the car away and instead sell it as they had hoped for a bigger cheque.  "No," he said, "it doesn't change anything."  Whew!  They would still give the car away.

At the next visit with her sister and her husband, they handed over a small box with a key in it.  Her sister didn't understand at first.  They explained they were giving their car away, as a gift.  Both her sister and her husband were in tears.  They had just been talking and praying as they drove down that day about that very thing again - "Lord, give us a car!"  My friend's faithful step blessed her sister's faith and her husband's faith.  Never had they seen God work so specifically and so quickly.  They were also praying for a different job that didn't require such long hours for her husband.  I imagine this inspired them to keep praying and to know that God hears their prayers!  It gave us all chills to hear this amazing story. 

When another person heard of how this other family had been gifted a car, they just assumed it was a gift from her wealthier brother, "No," the new car owner explained, "it came from....." and mentioned the name of my friend and her husband.  This made no sense as they were not in a financial place that would make them able to just give away a car.  It couldn't be them!  It had to be from someone more able.  But it wasn't.  It came from someone who realistically shouldn't have been giving a car away! That's the beauty of this story, too.  God prompted them, they acted on it, many were blessed.
That is, I think, the greater, more meaningful part of the story.  Their faith inspired so many, to give when it makes no sense, to listen to God's prompting. 

It also reminded me what the family of God can do for one another and how God uses Christian families, both related biologically and spiritually.  Was it humbling to receive that gift of the car?  Yes, it probably was, perhaps moreso for the husband, but God used them to meet a need.  God could have sent a car from heaven, but He chose to use a family member to help them out.  That is hard for me!  I want to be able to say, "I can do it on my own.  We don't need help!"  Yet, God has used our families time and time again to help us.  I listened to her story knowing full well God had used her to bless her sister, so why then do I fight it when so clearly God has used my family to bless me?  Pride.  That's what it comes down to.  Pride.  I want no one to think we are in need.  Perhaps that is why God allowed me to hear that story last night.  It was a great reminder.

Flesh and blood.  God uses people with skin on to encourage us.  He comes down in just the form we need sometimes.  Yes, I get great encouragement from His Word, but Joshua and Moses aren't sitting beside me.  Last night, Joshua and Moses were there, talking to me, in person, through the form of my new friend.  I didn't even realize how much I needed that.  Thank you, new friend, for being just what I needed without even realizing it yourself!