If you've followed my blog for any length of time, you know I believe deeply that God provides for us in abundance when we are walking in His will for our lives. I didn't think about this at first, but a series of events were put into motion months ago that have really shown God's provision in our lives. It started with the group of people we met in our small group through church. This 'semester' of small groups began in February and we were with some friends as well as some new folks. We never imagined how God would use these people in our lives.
We discovered that a friend from small group was in a bad situation and needed an escape plan. God laid it on my heart - You can help her. Of course, almost as quickly the devil began to whisper - No you can't! You don't have the room or the time to do that!? Who is He kidding?? So I ignored the thoughts all-together and moved on. God continued to speak to me - I asked you to help her. The thing is, God doesn't argue with you or argue with the Devil. God doesn't need to plead his case with you. Arguing means that you need to prove you are right. God has nothing to prove to anyone!
A week or two later, the opportunity to help arose again. God gently said to me - You can help her. Yet again, the excuses for why we can't help her flooded my mind, but this time I didn't listen. I shot off a text message to my husband: "Our friend is in a bad situation. Could she move in with us?" What I didn't know was that in that rare moment, Will's phone was sitting next to him on the desk as he did his homework and was not on silent. I believe that was intentional. My husband is not addicted to his phone like most people, so I was stunned when less than two minutes later I got his reply: "Yes." That was confirmation, God was indeed calling us to do this.
I said to our friend, "Why don't you move in with us for a while? We can help you get back on your feet." The response didn't come immediately. Our friend needed time with it, just like we did. It was probably two weeks later before she came by the house to discuss how this arrangement would work. Will and I had discussed it and formulated a plan to give her a hand up. We talked with her and everyone seemed to be on the same page and decided she would move in that weekend. As well as sat and talked, our friend broke down and told us how her situation had deteriorated in just the last few days. It had never been clearer that she needed to be out of that situation sooner than the weekend. The next day, she and my husband went and picked up her things while I prepared a room for her in our home.
We didn't make it public knowledge that we were hosting someone in our home. This was something we wanted to do quietly. (And now I'm writing about it on my blog, that makes a lot of sense doesn't it!/) I had been chatting online with an acquaintance and telling her how busy our spring had been with wedding/anniversary celebrations, funerals, and we had gotten a roommate. She expressed her sympathies to me because she never hears of a roommate situation that goes well. I chuckled and said that our roommate is as much a blessing to us as we are to her; that when you are doing Kingdom work, God just works out all those small details for you. She agreed!
We aren't burned or bothered by our roommate being in our home - she is a blessing. Our bills have increased a little - surprisingly not the electric but our water bill - but we've had the income to cover them completely. As I get closer to Blueberry's due date and ladies I was excited to be pregnant with have had their babies, our roommate has been a source of encouragement and distraction for me. Especially in the evening after the kids are all in bed when things normally hit me the hardest. I cannot imagine how badly I would be suffering (and hiding my suffering) if she weren't here. God knew what all of us would need in the coming months and provided an opportunity for us to meet each others needs in abundance. Walking in the Lord's will in our life once again proves He is sovereign and faithful again and again.
We discovered that a friend from small group was in a bad situation and needed an escape plan. God laid it on my heart - You can help her. Of course, almost as quickly the devil began to whisper - No you can't! You don't have the room or the time to do that!? Who is He kidding?? So I ignored the thoughts all-together and moved on. God continued to speak to me - I asked you to help her. The thing is, God doesn't argue with you or argue with the Devil. God doesn't need to plead his case with you. Arguing means that you need to prove you are right. God has nothing to prove to anyone!
A week or two later, the opportunity to help arose again. God gently said to me - You can help her. Yet again, the excuses for why we can't help her flooded my mind, but this time I didn't listen. I shot off a text message to my husband: "Our friend is in a bad situation. Could she move in with us?" What I didn't know was that in that rare moment, Will's phone was sitting next to him on the desk as he did his homework and was not on silent. I believe that was intentional. My husband is not addicted to his phone like most people, so I was stunned when less than two minutes later I got his reply: "Yes." That was confirmation, God was indeed calling us to do this.
I said to our friend, "Why don't you move in with us for a while? We can help you get back on your feet." The response didn't come immediately. Our friend needed time with it, just like we did. It was probably two weeks later before she came by the house to discuss how this arrangement would work. Will and I had discussed it and formulated a plan to give her a hand up. We talked with her and everyone seemed to be on the same page and decided she would move in that weekend. As well as sat and talked, our friend broke down and told us how her situation had deteriorated in just the last few days. It had never been clearer that she needed to be out of that situation sooner than the weekend. The next day, she and my husband went and picked up her things while I prepared a room for her in our home.
We didn't make it public knowledge that we were hosting someone in our home. This was something we wanted to do quietly. (And now I'm writing about it on my blog, that makes a lot of sense doesn't it!/) I had been chatting online with an acquaintance and telling her how busy our spring had been with wedding/anniversary celebrations, funerals, and we had gotten a roommate. She expressed her sympathies to me because she never hears of a roommate situation that goes well. I chuckled and said that our roommate is as much a blessing to us as we are to her; that when you are doing Kingdom work, God just works out all those small details for you. She agreed!
We aren't burned or bothered by our roommate being in our home - she is a blessing. Our bills have increased a little - surprisingly not the electric but our water bill - but we've had the income to cover them completely. As I get closer to Blueberry's due date and ladies I was excited to be pregnant with have had their babies, our roommate has been a source of encouragement and distraction for me. Especially in the evening after the kids are all in bed when things normally hit me the hardest. I cannot imagine how badly I would be suffering (and hiding my suffering) if she weren't here. God knew what all of us would need in the coming months and provided an opportunity for us to meet each others needs in abundance. Walking in the Lord's will in our life once again proves He is sovereign and faithful again and again.
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Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests to made known to God. — Philippians 4:6