God's Economy

Taken from the Gospel of Luke:

15Then he said to them, "Watch out! Be on your guard against all kinds of greed; a man's life does not consist in the abundance of his possessions."

22Then Jesus said to his disciples: "Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat; or about your body, what you will wear. 23Life is more than food, and the body more than clothes. 24Consider the ravens: They do not sow or reap, they have no storeroom or barn; yet God feeds them. And how much more valuable you are than birds! 25Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to his life? 26Since you cannot do this very little thing, why do you worry about the rest?
27"Consider how the lilies grow. They do not labor or spin. Yet I tell you, not even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like one of these. 28If that is how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today, and tomorrow is thrown into the fire, how much more will he clothe you, O you of little faith! 29And do not set your heart on what you will eat or drink; do not worry about it. 30For the pagan world runs after all such things, and your Father knows that you need them. 31But seek his kingdom, and these things will be given to you as well.

So...my pride wants to keep me from writing this, but that would mean that evil would win, so I will elaborate indeed! Even before the economic crisis, I was a little worried. S is growing like a weed and I could plainly see that she would need a brand new wardrobe for the Fall/Winter months. I was thinking about having to buy everything - new jeans, pants, shirts, dresses, stockings, shoes, dress shoes, etc -since she is our first born with no dependable hand-me-downs like her little sister is used to. Once I added up all the expense in my head, I admit, I was frightened. You see, we have been trying hard to stay out of debt, and since I did not get a paycheck in August (that's how the term worked out), I just knew the money wasn't there. Let's face it, the grocery bill has been taking it's toll as well! I shared my concern with D, and in his certain wisdom, he said, "Let's just see if there's anything in the attic." (We had moved in this parsonage almost a year before, so I honestly didn't remember anything that was up there.) Well, let me tell you, I got teary-eyed as he brought down bag after bag from my two sis-in-laws and some from a dear friend (Caren)!! There were shoes, dresses, shirts, sweaters, etc...almost everything we needed...everything I had been worried about!! I felt silly actually, but very overwhelmingly blessed. Now, fast forward to the past few days as we visited with family. Another friend (Rachel) just out-of-the-blue sent clothes home with us AND both of the same sis-in-laws (Angie and Tracy) sent us out the door with bags of clothes! I literally was laughing with joy and gratitude as we unloaded all of the bags when we got home, again feeling silly that I had ever worried!

Furthermore, I will share another one of God's recent blessings, this one pertaining to food. Many of you know that my husband killed his first deer a few weeks ago and now has turned into a passionate hunter. Well, through a "mistake" at the meat processors, we were given a double portion of deer meat which they just let us have. (Funny, the same thing happened at lunch today and our waitress brought us new food but said to just take the other home for supper...and we did!) Not only that, but our garden this summer was so plentiful that we had to purchase a small freezer to hold it all. I honestly do not know if we will be able to eat it all...but we will try:)

I just wanted to share about our blessings to remind you all of the faithfulness of God. Seriously, did you read the Bible verses above?!! He knows we need the basics of (1)food and (2)clothes. He will provide, and often, He will provide in abundance!! He works on a completely opposite economy than our own pitiful one. We, as Christians, should not be worried or frightened during this time...especially if we are faithful tithers:) Take heart you guys, God Almighty is still on the throne, no matter what the outcome of this election or the economic situation!!!