A Promise

I spoke with a good friend the other day about unfairness. They had mentioned the fact that a much younger person was making way more money than they did for doing much less. I felt the urge to commiserate at first, but something hit me powerfully. You can call it a Holy Spirit moment. One of those times when words pop into our head or heart that we couldn't possibly have thought on our own.

"Wait a minute," I said. "You are a tither, right?" She said that yes, she was. "Has God ever failed you, really failed you? Has He ever not shown up when you needed Him the most? Have you ever truly been in a bad way and not had the means to get through it?"

My friend's face lit up. She was beginning to get the picture. Clearly.

I continued. "Don't you think that God can take meager wages and quadruple them if He chooses? No matter what amount we are making at our job, He can multiply it. Our wages are His anyway. Everything is His. When we put our complete trust in Him, He shows Himself faithful to our situations. Therefore no matter what amount of money is in our hand, we are blessed and favored. Nothing can take that from us."

She looked down and then back up at me. "You're completely right," she said. "He's never failed me. No matter what I've been through, somehow things always worked out."

This reminded me of my own trust in the Lord where my finances were concerned. The Bible says, "Test me in this," says the Lord, "and see if I do not throw open the floodgates of Heaven." I had been a single mother at the time. And I decided that I would begin to tithe, to give ten percent of my earnings to the church. Many people scoffed at this. Some said that I was crazy. All I knew was God had been nudging at me to begin doing this. I had to. The first week I began, my car had problems and a family member needed help with a loan they had recently taken out. They were unable to make their payment and had come to me a little desperate.

"Lord, seriously," I said. "I began tithing and everything appears to be going wrong. Maybe it isn't for me after all." I struggled and thought about giving up. But something kept telling me to keep at it. Week after week, I gave ten percent to the Lord. And I know some people don't understand this at all. No, we are not handing money directly to Him. But we are taking what we make, and trustingly putting it into the hands of God's stewards. Other people would say hurtful things like "The church has enough money. How do you know where your money will really go?" All I can tell you is what worked for me, and what I felt peace with.

I not only was able to pay for the fixing of my car, but I was able to help the family member, and during Christmas, which was only a few weeks away that year, extra money came in many different forms for me and my son. God showed Himself faithful and His word, true. I have never looked back, and have spoken often of the ten percent. 

If you are in a time of lack, if you are feeling that others are passing you by on the ladder of success and that life is truly unfair; If you are struggling with your bills and debt, may I suggest putting aside ten percent of your what you make and give it to a church that you are comfortable with. Especially if your church, like mine, is the type that has many different ministries and you know it is going to good use. The faithfulness and trust alone is something our Heavenly Father sees and will bless. I feel very strongly about this. So much that I am speaking a prayer over anyone reading this right now. I pray that the Lord will bless you abundantly, dear reader. I pray that you will find peace, healing, grace, and the beginning of restoration in your life. In Jesus name.

Amen

He Ain't Heavy

This morning in church I saw a sight I would never have believed. As service was about to begin in my non-denominational church, a man walked in with a large child across his shoulders. At first glance, I thought perhaps they were joking around, and that the dad would place the child down after a few giggles.

We all stood to our feet as the band came out onto the stage, the first chords of music punctuating the air, and the wonderful feel of community and oneness. The father chose to stand two rows in front of me, and the child remained across his shoulders. What on earth? I began thinking. Then I saw the child had bare feet and had an I-pad of some sort clutched in her hands. She was older, perhaps ten or so. As the music progressed, the father adjusted her in his arms, never losing grip of this large child over his shoulders as her hands played across the I-pad.

In my judgmental mind, I thought it was the most insane sight I'd ever seen. Then realization dawned on me finally of the situation. This child was handicapped. And the father never blinked an eye, stood with the rest of the congregation swaying back and forth in a soothing motion to the music for his child as he readjusted her weight only a few times as he kept her across his back.

Wow, I thought, he must be one strong man. His neck and arms were heavily corded with muscles. No wonder, I thought again, he must do this all the time. I felt drawn to watching this scenario as the music played on. I found myself offering prayers for this man and the burden he literally shouldered.

When the music had finished and it was time to welcome one another with a greeting, this man didn't hesitate to turn in all directions to say good morning to those of us who were seated near him. He had a smile on his face that I'll never forget.

Even when we sat, the father took his child to him, placing her in front of him this time, cradling her throughout the service, occasionally soothing her with his body language.

Wow, Lord, I thought. Is this how you care for us? You are known as the Good Shepherd. You are known to take care of us, your flock. You are known to go back for that one stray lamb who wanders from the fold every so often.

It hit me how great the love of our God is for us. If a man can love his handicapped child so much that he puts his own comfort aside and can bodily carry her across his shoulders, how much greater is the love of our Heavenly Father who carries our weight and burdens across His?

Think about it friends. We serve a most awesome, powerful God. A God that adores us and carries us when we need it most. Let's let Him into our hearts. Let's not miss the beckon of His hands when it's time for Him to pick us up and put us onto His shoulders.

Grace

I've reached a time where bones hurt and aches and pains are prevalent. My aging parents weigh heavily on my mind and sometimes the sins of my past come back to haunt me in wicked ways. I think of ups and downs, triumphs and failures. I've made mistakes in marriage, hurt people with my words at times, but hopefully have been a blessing as well.

Have I raised my son well? Am I a good daughter, wife, employee, friend? I wish I had the answers. There are days I'm fresh and ready to face most anything. And then there are others that threaten to crush my spirit, leaving me hollow and aching, forlorn and almost hopeless.

I could never have faced the difficulties of this life without my faith. As a young girl in Catholic school, a teenager who watched every religious movie ever made, and an adult who finally found peace in a non-denominational church. The road of my faith was bumpy, filled with rocks and pebbles. Guilt was such a big part of growing up Italian and Catholic at the same time. I was never quite "good enough." Never measured up to someone, anyone who was better than me, smarter, kinder. Oh did I waste a lot of time.

I never understood grace. I thought I had to work my way to heaven, buy my way in with the ticket of perfection. Not until about six years ago and finding a church home which changed my life, did I realize that grace, perfect love of a perfect God is all I need. That's it. I don't have to be better. I'm good enough for God's love. I am His beloved and have felt the Holy Spirit stirring strongly in my life.

When those days come, the days that pull me down, reminding me how far I still need to go, or tickle at the outer corners of my mind with their lies of being worthless, I remember grace. Someone died for me. His blood, His love poured out for ME. No matter how imperfect and pain-filled my body is, how thoughts of past failures plague me, He loves me unconditionally. And nobody will ever take that away.

Bask in the thought today. Surrender to grace.