It has been a most unusual week. To start with Kim's grandfather passed away last Tuesday and we did quite a bit of traveling for the funeral and the burial. Though it was a sad time it was refreshing to spend time with the family.
We have also been struggling mightily with financial problems and I had resigned myself to the fact that God was going to let us flounder because we have brought most of it on ourselves anyway. This is not a knock on God's love or His care for us but I simply thought I was paying the consequences for poor decisions.
But the last couple weeks I have seen His hand in tangible ways. For instance as we were heading to the burial site on Sunday our van broke down about one mile from Belle Plain, Ia at about 11:30 am.
We were caravanning so there were people with us but it was Sunday.
We discovered there was a gas station that could come help us. The man had a battery pack that we hooked onto the van and I was able to get to the station. He looked at the battery and discovered the alternator was not charging and he could not get one until the next day.
We had to have my in-laws come to Cedar rapids with us because we did not have enough space to fit all our luggage and ourselves.
I figured it would be around $200-$250 for the repair and I had just enough to cover the cost actually in my wallet. When I called to get the price I was was stunned to find out it was $365.00! I did not have that much, or so I thought.
A black cloud formed in my heart as I also discovered we also had an unexpected $500 bill. things were not looking good at all. I turned to the Lord in a very Davidic way asking why He was letting us get farther into trouble when we had been working so hard to get out this mess! I was a mess and we had company! I couldn't hide I had to be a good host though I thought my heart was going to burst form anxiety!
I went to find out what we had in savings and low and behold we had $400! Praise the Lord! That would cover the cost fully!
I came home yesterday, Tuesday, to discover I had a "Thank you" from my company for the role I played in the flood efforts and that "thank you" has helped us pay off a couple of bills that were taking their toll on our finances. What a great and unexpected praise! I never doubted the Lord was good but I did not think He would intervene in this way! He is so good!
The reason I added the times into my story above is to show God's timing:
It was Sunday. Rarely will you find a service station open at all let alone on Sundays.
The station closed at noon on Sundays. We broke down one mile from the station at 11:30.
I thought we were out of money but we had enough to cover the cost of the repairs!
And finally the "thank you" from work! Like a cool rain after a hot sticky day...SO refreshing!
It has not solved all of our woes but it so very helpful in a tough time! So cool! God's timing is perfect! I maintain that money will not solve all of your problems but when you can get control of it the stress levels in your life are so much less! Praise the Lord for His steadfast goodness!
Never fail to trust the Lord! He will always be with you whatever the circumstances!
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