Finding the thanks

Image courtesy of patpitchaya at DigitalPhotos.net

   
Be joyful always; pray continually; give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus. – 1 Thessalonians 5:16–18 (NIV)
   
   
I stared at the numbers. The “out” figure was significantly higher than the “in.” Paying only a portion was not an option. The bills were to be paid in full, the due dates firm.
   
“Show me how to do this, Lord,” I whispered, pushing back the worry nudging at my heart.
   
And He did. It wasn’t the way I’d wanted—taking the money from a meager investment account we have for emergencies. But when God gives the answer, I’ve learned to follow His advice.
   
It looks as though I’m going to be asking His advice more, because this year our budget is being hit hard.
   
We’ve had to replace our 35-year-old water pressure tank, the washer (although it was only 16 years old), and my husband’s eyeglasses, all within two months after we breathed a sigh of relief for paying the taxes on time.
   
Looming just ahead are a deposit on a new hearing aid for me (I won’t even tell you how old the one I have is), the bi-annual car insurance payment, and a doubled property tax bill. Add to the list higher copays and health insurance deductibles.
   
But it is what it is.
   
So I’m back to praying, “Lord, show me how to do this.”
   
There was a time when I prayed for God to send the money. I expected Him to drop it in our laps.
   
It didn’t happen. Not that He doesn’t keep His word to provide for all our needs (Philippians 4:19), to hear us when we call on Him (Jeremiah 33:3), to answer when we ask, seek, and knock (Matthew 7:7–11).
   
He just knew I had greater needs than instant money.
   
I needed to learn to live within our means. I needed to apply the words “frugal,” “resourceful,” and “wise.” I needed to learn the difference between “needs” and “wants.” It took me a while, but I needed to learn how to pray—not “Send me the money (like, NOW)” but “Show me how to do this.”
   
And I needed to learn to find the thanks.
   
When we’re getting slammed with the unexpected, the unwanted, it’s human nature to cry, “Unfair!” or “Why me?” and to complain, argue, and wrestle with (and sometimes feed) a bad attitude.
   
Changing our attitude involves a change in our thinking from “poor me” to “rich me.” Because we have a Father who provides for all of our needs out of His riches—His glorious riches.
   
What am I thankful for during this time when the month is longer than the money?
   
I’m thankful the water tank lasted as long as it did, the washer needed only one repair during those 16 years, and when they did need replaced, we had the money to pay for them—hubby’s first Social Security check.

Now that the gratitude floodgates are open, I can spend all day listing the many, many things for which I'm thankful.

But most important,  I’m thankful for a Father in Heaven who will show me how to meet the upcoming bills, who provides for all my needs, and who’s teaching me to find the thanks.
   
   
When the stuff of life starts to be overwhelming, Lord, help me to find the thanks. Amen.

More tea: Philippians 4:4–9

       
   

My bargain tent

When you pass through the waters, I will be with you. – Isaiah 43:2 (NIV)
      
      
This year, with the publication of my first book of fiction, I decided to have a booth at the Groundhog Festival. I’d sell autographed copies of all my published books, let folks know about new and upcoming releases – and “meet and greet.” After all, one chapter of The Heart Remembers takes place at the Groundhog Festival in Punxsutawney.
      
I’d thought to borrow the required 10x10 canopy tent to set up on my spot from my son, but his didn’t have sidewalls. And I wasn’t sure what condition it was in, since a wind storm blew it over last summer during one of our cookouts, and we couldn’t get the frame down. So it braved the long winter in the yard.
      
My long-suffering hubby managed to fix the frame and attach the canopy, which had sustained a tear or two when it caught on the garden fence. He set it up on the patio and told me to check for leaks the next time it rained. Well, we got the rain, all right, along with some pretty gusty winds, which blew the whole thing over onto the rocks that covered the back slope of the patio. I managed to unhook the canopy from the frame but couldn’t get the frame folded. But I needn’t worry – without the canopy it wasn’t going anywhere – except to the scrap heap because when fix-it man came home from work, he said this time even he couldn’t repair it.
      
So online I went shopping for a 10x10 canopy tent with sidewalls that wouldn’t make this whole impulsive affair cost more than I had in the bank. I wanted to at least break even.
      
I found a nice one with “windows” on eBay for $139.99, free shipping, easy setup.
      
When it arrived a week or so later, we erected it in the backyard. It went up easily, although Dean said he wanted heavier, sturdier stakes.
      
Good thing. Because the week of the Groundhog Festival was fraught with storms. Oh, hubby had it tied down good, and it didn’t blow away.
      
But the roof leaked.
      
The opening day of the festival had us scrambling to cover my display table and wishing for an umbrella. I’d have to take down my display every night when I closed up and take the books home so the damp wouldn’t damage them.
      
I kept my eye on the black clouds and the forecast all week, imagining the worse.
      
And failing to trust the God who watches over me.
      
Shame on me.
      
Because the only rain we got all week (except Sunday, when we discovered the roof wasn’t waterproof) was one night or early morning when I wasn’t there. All I had to do is wipe off the table and set up.
      
All week long I fretted, but each day the storms passed us, and each day I sensed God whispering to me, “Trust Me. I got this.”
      
I broke even. But more than that, I learned – again – that even when my faith falters, My God is faithful.
      
      
You won’t always hold back the storms, Lord, but I know You’ll be with me in the midst of them. Thank You, Abba Father! Amen.

 

Special-Tea: Read Isaiah 43:1–7; Psalm 91

My Baker's Dozen

Your Father knows what you need before you ask him. – Matthew 6:8 (NIV)

I call it my “Baker’s Dozen.”
         
Back in December, I’d grown weary of praying for the same things—some for years—over and over and hearing not even a whisper of an answer. What was I supposed to do? Keep praying? Give up? I felt stuck in the Valley of Wait.

It wasn’t like I was asking for a million dollars. Things were getting old and needed replaced—like the roof, the pickup (our only vehicle), and the redneck porch—I mean, how many times can we build a deck using wooden pallets? The heating oil was getting low, I needed a new winter coat, and the paint on the kitchen floor, actually the subfloor, was chipped and stained and hard to keep clean. The throw rugs I used to cover it were showing their age (37 years). I didn’t even want to think about the aging equipment in my writing room.

So one morning during my quiet time I decided to take God at His Word. After all, doesn’t He tell us in His Word that He’ll supply all our needs? Don’t get me into the wants vs. needs debate. I refuse to analyze to death a simple thing like a prayer request. Either God is Who He says He is or He isn’t. Either His Word is true or it isn’t. I choose to believe the former, in both cases.

So I opened my journal and printed across the top of a blank left page, “Needs.” Then I listed all that I’d been praying for. The list numbered 13. On some of the items I gave God a deadline. On the opposite page, I wrote “When and How God Provided” and numbered the lines from 1 to 13. This was my Jehovah Jireh page (see Genesis 22:14). Jehovah Jireh, or YHWH Yireh, translates “The LORD Will Provide” and means “God who will provide all of your needs.”

I rewrote the list on a sheet of paper, folded it up, put it in a glass candle dish, and set a match to it. No, I wasn’t throwing a hissy fit. In the Bible, things that were given, or dedicated, to God, were burned.

Then I waited. I refused to fret. I had put the list in God’s hands, and He would take care of it. Period.

Eight months later, six of the requests have been answered. But God gives what we don’t ask for, too, and provides for needs we don’t even know we have. It just so happened that the payment I received for a writing assignment in May was enough to purchase a new laptop, printer, and an external hard drive. No sooner had I copied all my files from the old laptop to the external hard drive when the old laptop gave up the ghost. In December I hadn’t a clue. But God knew.

As far as the unanswered half of the Baker’s Dozen list, I have no doubt that those blanks will be filled, too.
   
Jehovah Jireh, thank you for meeting all my needs. Amen.

Special-Tea: Matthew 7:7-11

More tea: Philippians 4:19, 2 Corinthians 9:6–11, Matthew 6:25–34, Luke 18:1, Malachi 3:10