Met

My family and I had a need this week. A financial need. A significant financial need. You know how it is- when you really really need some extra cash and there's no extra cash to be found. And you also can't foresee any coming your way. Things have been tight for us this past year. We've had a lot of "unexpected" emergency expenses and things came to a head. We had a bill that we absolutely HAD to pay. And no money to pay it with. I would like to say that I handled this situation calmly and rationally. As any good Christian woman would do. But no. I did what I usually do in these situations. I panicked. And cried. And lost sleep. And basically made my family a nervous wreck. (Of course the boys didn't know what was going on- we don't discuss our finances with them! But they definitely knew something was up.)

This story really began about two years ago. Now, if you know my husband, you know that he's a musician. And he loves to collect things to support this habit. Over the years, he's added to his collection largely. Two years ago, he decided he wanted new stuff. He realized that no way did we have the funds to purchase this "stuff", so he improvised. Sat down and took stock of what he had versus what he really needed. He took most of his "extra" stuff and wheeled and dealed. Made trade-offs at music stores. Sold stuff on Craigslist. Long story short, he was able to obtain all of the new stuff he wanted without having to spend a dime. He was extremely proud of himself, and I was proud, too.

So, he's been working with only what he needs, which is the way it should be. In my opinion, at least. He had one piece of equipment, however, that he wasn't able to get rid of. No one would take it in a trade. He listed it on Craig's list multiple times and didn't receive a single, solitary call on it. So he kept it. Found some ways to use it, but still...he didn't really need it.

Honestly, I had forgotten all about it. Then, this weekend, after my panic-induced crying fest, I began to pray. Which is what I should have done in the first place. I sobbed my heart out to God, and asked him to help us come up with a way to meet this need. Sunday afternoon, I remembered this piece of equipment. Instead of immediately going to Chris and demanding that he try to sell it, which I have been known to do in the past, I prayed and fasted about the situation. I prayed for God to give us knowledge on what to do. I asked for God to open Chris' mind about selling this piece of equipment- because even though he didn't really need it anymore, the selling of his stuff is still a touchy subject for my husband. Instead of rushing out and acting before I really think, I took the rest of the afternoon and the next day to quietly wait on God to tell me what to do.

And He did. On the way home from class Monday night, I carefully brought up the idea of selling the piece of equipment. And Chris took it well. Not as well as he could have...I knew he wasn't happy about it, but he knew it was the right thing to do. We picked up the kids, brought them home, and put them to bed. I straightened up the house and Chris headed upstairs to make a Craglist listing. He came back down around 11:30 and told me that he'd listed the equipment but that he wasn't all that optimistic about getting good results. After all, he'd tried before and no one had seemed to be interested. We prayed quickly about. Gave the situation to God again. Chris went to bed, I headed to the bathroom to brush my teeth. And my cell phone rang.

At 11:45, someone was calling about the listing! Chris talked to him for a few minutes, then hung up. He looked at me in disbelief and said "I think I just sold it. The guys coming to get it tomorrow. He said if everything checks out, he'll take it". Chris then continued to warn me to not get too excited. After all, we didn't know this person and half the time people that respond to Craigslist adds don't follow through. To make a long story short, last night Chris came home minus his equipment and with enough money to meet our need.

I'm still a little shocked. Less than 24 hours after Chris placed the craiglist add, he had made a sell and we had what we needed. This can only be classified as a "God Thing". He worked it all out! His hand was on this situation even two years ago when Chris first listed that piece of equipment on Craigslist. I'm so glad that I went to Him and waited for an answer. I don't usually do that. I'm a big panicker. When I panic and overreact, I often rush into a decision. Which usually ends up backfiring.

I felt like I had to share this story, to give God the praise and honor He deserves. Sometimes, during our hectic lives, its easy to forget that God really loves us. He cares about all of our struggles, big and small. And He wants us to go to Him with our needs.

Thank you God, for what you've done for us. Not only today, but every day.