LEARNING AT THE POTTER'S WHEEL

Isaiah 55:1,2

Ho, every one that thirsteth,
come ye to the waters,
and he that hath no money;
come ye, buy, and eat;
yea, come, buy wine and milk without money
and without price.
Wherefore do ye spend money
for that which is not bread?
and your labour for that which satisfieth not?
hearken diligently unto me,
and eat ye that which is good,

and let your soul delight itself in fatness.

Duke handed me the paperwork to do our taxes last week. Thankfully our finances are not very complex, so it’s mostly a matter of finding an extended window of time that allows me to think without distractions. THAT’s the part that can get complicated!

I tallied up our income for the year and then I double checked the figure. This just couldn’t be right. Don’t get me wrong. I knew things were tight. Duke hadn’t worked as many hours last year as previous and things weren’t luxurious . . . but the figure I was looking at stunned me. We had managed to pay our bills and eat regularly on nearly 15% LESS income than in the previous year!

For me, it was really exciting. This meant that we were able to enjoy more of Duke and more family time and we didn’t really miss the money. It wasn’t planned. We did eat more beans, brown rice, and tortillas than we did before, but WOW, 15% LESS annual income! I couldn’t stop laughing for joy.

It just really drove home the point for me that God knows how to take care of us in ways that no paycheck ever could.

This isn’t the first time God has done something like that. He uses the most unexpected methods. . .

There was the time when we needed money for Z-man’s therapy. It was going to cost thousands of dollars for the year in addition to travel expenses. We didn’t have the money.

The first year, we received an unexpected windfall from a canceled retirement fund in just the right amount to cover the year and the initial evaluation.

The second year, we got a box in the mail from my sister. While she was on the phone, she told us to open the box. Inside, we found some t-shirts: “Oh! Don’t look at those, keep going,” she urged. A little lower down, we found some newspaper clippings about a ‘benefit’ garage sale. From the clippings, it appeared that several families had donated items. My sister had organized a fundraiser, unasked. Families we didn’t know had donated so much stuff that it filled my sister’s yard AND her neighbor’s. A sign company even donated a HUGE banner to stretch over the area. Sis said that some people didn’t even want to buy anything. They just stopped their cars and made donations.

Then my sister told me to open the envelope. Inside was just enough money to cover another year’s worth of treatment, including travel expenses for one trip. We just wept and cried in thanksgiving. The t-shirts were ones that the volunteers had worn. They had Z-man’s picture on them.

The next year, I was starting to get really run down physically and otherwise. The intense therapies were demanding. Learning new ways to prepare new foods was time-consuming. We were in another universe than our old friends. Family couldn’t relate to what we were going through, and it was just too hard to explain.

Days were filled with endless tasks and the work was never done. There wasn’t time or strength or energy left over for any kind of socializing, so we didn’t even try. We just laughed when local parents’ groups sent invitations for parents’ night out. Spending more energy to move the family from point A to point B coupled with the stress of handing our kids over to be watched by strangers was simply not an option. I NEEDED to get out. I NEEDED time with my husband, but Duke was buried in work, and from his perspective I was doing just fine.

The truth was that we were both drowning in the endless fight to awaken the neurological connections in our child’s mind. Duke was wearing himself out with overtime. I was just surviving.

It was one of those times in our lives when we couldn’t have told you what we needed if you had asked. We didn’t know ourselves.

But God knew.

He laid it on the heart of a woman in Texas to pay for half of our air fare to travel to Texas and visit family. This was no small feat as the trip would require me to plan our meals and send our foods ahead. We would stay with family.

Duke agreed. The arrangements were made. At the last minute, Duke nearly changed his mind. Thankfully, the tickets were non-refundable.

We spent two wonderful weeks in Texas. We were able to see San Antonio and Austin (in all of its wonderful weirdness :-) ). We thanked that woman for her incredible gift, but I don’t think she will ever know how she helped (by God’s direction) pull us back out of some very black days. It is one of our most cherished memories.

That’s how God has worked again and again in our lives. These are just a few of the stories. I don’t share except to brag on God and to remind you that this same Jesus loves you as well. For those who imagine that serving God brings great monetary wealth, I just laugh and think how short-sighted that perspective is. God does MUCH more than we could ever ask or think.

Ephesians 3:19,21
Now unto him that is able
to do exceeding abundantly
above all that we ask or think,
according to the power that worketh in us,
Unto him be glory
in the church by Christ Jesus
throughout all ages,
world without end.
Amen.