The Goodness of God

My dh took me out yesterday afternoon to celebrate my birthday...38 years old this week! Goodness, me!

We went to this cute little Chinese restaurant that my mom introduced us too--the New China Buffet in Imlay City--it's in the Kroger shopping plaza. They have an all you can eat buffet of Chinese food (obviously) with some really incredible soups too. Normally those buffet places aren't my favorite...but this one is especially good, and it is MSG free. Best of all, it's cheap. For the two of us we spent a little bit more than what one would spend at McDonald's...plus tip. We needed to go in that direction anyway, as we needed some more car parts for the van.

On the way there, we are reflecting on the goodness of God to us....we've had some hard times for a long time now, and it's been a frustration but yet God has at the same time really shown Himself strong on our behalf. He has never let us go without that which we truly need, and has taught us to discern the difference between wants and needs. It's been an eye opening experience.

As we drove towards Imlay (some 20 miles from home), we began to notice how many houses were up for sale...and businesses....and how many of them said "Reduced Price" on them. Lots of these homes for sale looked empty--maybe foreclosed? Someone was arguing with me recently that the whole talk of a recession is some Democrat plot to convince us of hard times so that we will vote for Hillary. LOL. Well, I am not sure there is ANYTHING on this planet that would make me vote for her...but if this is a conspiracy to make us all THINK we are in a recession, they are pretty convincing. I am sure these people are losing their homes out of more than just fear. Things are hard for families. Many families are trying desperately to tighten their belts. Some are finding that they are so overextended, especially with their mortgage, that they are going to lose everything and they can't do much about it.I know...I get lots of emails on this topic from desperate families asking about saving money.

On they way home, we started to count with tally marks how many houses actually were for sale...we counted 104 for sale signs, including 23 businesses, and 49 "price reduced" signs...and we are in a very rural area. It was something like 1 in 6 or 7 pieces of property up for sale that we passed.

We started to praise God that we never lost our house (the repo appraiser did come by once, but thankfully we were able to get out of that situation!). We were praising God for friends of ours who, while in a worse situation than us, didn't lose their house either (but it was close--the repo man came by a few times). We were thanking God for His provision. We were thanking God for showing us what it means to trust in Him as Jehovah Jireh. We were praying for all of the other families here in Michigan (and elsewhere) on the verge of losing everything.

Last night, our pastor spoke on seeing with the eyes of Elisha (2 Kings 6:8-18). So many times we look at these signs of despair around us, and we are like Elisha's servant--only seeing the Syrian armies around us. However, when we are walking in faith and looking through the eyes of faith, we see with the eyes of Elisha, and we realize that God has already sent His protecting angels in chariots of fire to surround us.

Afterwards, I shared with someone what God was showing Martin and I, and they cynically said that they didn't really think that it looked like we were being taken care of...after all, the Van still is in bad shape, and we have no money in savings, and in a few years our oldest will be ready for college but there is no college fund with which to pay for that education...and so on and so forth...

...but really, God is able to provide for us no matter what it looks like...if God wants her to go to college, He'll provide for that. We seek Him often about that topic!!! I know that the van will eventually be cared for ;) I would rather not go without it...but if I have to, I have to. It really isn't a "need"....as necessary as it feels. And, as much as God wants us to be good stewards of what He has provided, we don't get brownie points for how much we have in savings, but rather how we spend what He has given to us. Not that I don't get discouraged about stuff like this...I need those faith builders just as much as anyone else. I've had pity parties, and I have had crying fits over this stuff....but God...oh, but GOD is so faithful, and the peace that passes all understanding just pours over us and we realize it really is WELL with my soul!