Wow... it has been far too long since I posted here. I have fallen into the old habit of working too many hours - fearing the wrath and disppointment of clients and coworkers over the wrath and disappointment of God, family, friends and folks that I could be meeting to serve. I am not sure how to break out of this unhealthy mindset... but I am praying about it and asking for answers. As a wonderful friend and counselor reminded me "The LORD is my light and my salvation; Whom shall I fear? The LORD is the defense of my life; Whom shall I dread?"Psalm 27:1. He's right... my focus is completely skewed right now.
Many things have happened since the last post. Permit me to catch up in the mode of random ramblings... Through God's grace in the form of my sister-in-law's parents and my brother, we now have a second vehicle. This is not a big deal to most folks... but to us it was critical. Our small business moved into an office in January and with both adults working and five active children heading off in various directions, we were exhausted trying to coordinate the use of the single car. We had prayed for a solution - one that would not throw us into debt - and that prayer was answered in the form of a beautiful, almost mint condition, 1977 Chevy Nova! The price of the car? $400 for the general maintenance repairs that were needed. My brother spent several hours running things down and getting it ready for us. God is so good!
About the new office... it is very different working in an office and out of my home again. The true joy comes in the fact that it is a Christ-friendly environment. We pray together. Seriously - we dedicate time for prayer as a group and it isn't unusual for someone to call an impromtu 'prayer meeting' for a pressing need. It is so amazing! I have also - just this week - learned that a dear friend in Christ who happens to be an incredible programmer will be joining our team! Now, THIS is indeed an answered prayer. I have needed help with the workload since August and for it to be someone whom I totally respect and admire as a person and a Christian is just amazing.
An interesting thing happened this week. In typical "gotta get it done no matter what" fashion, I spent all weekend working on projects for my customers; to the point that I did not sleep for more than a few hours each night and did not take time to eat and step out for air. So, of course, by Sunday afternoon I was exhausted and catching a nasty cold. This cold forced me to go home early on Monday and stay home on Tuesday. While I was in and out of sleep and fever for most of the day, in late afternoon I decided to get up and eat something. I heard a knock at the door. It was only 4pm... too early to be our children returning from school. I opened the door and greeted a young lady, no older than 11 or 12. She said she was "raising money for school. But since folks just don't give out money, would you like to buy my bike?" I smiled graciously and said "No, sweetie, but thank you." She said goodbye and I closed the door. In that moment, I felt an overwhelming sense of urgency to go to her and ask what was really going on. I knew that schools didn't send children - during school hours - to try to sell their personal possessions. I opened the door and ran barefooted down the sidewalk to catch up to her. I told her that I knew that she wasn't really raising money for school and asked what was really going on. I invited her back to our home to talk. She walked back with me and as we sat in my living room, she finally admitted that her family was having serious money problems - no food and on the verge of eviction - and she was trying to get money to help. I gave her what I had on hand and she assured me that it wasn't needed for something bad like drugs or alcohol. I also gave her my phone number and invited her to call me or come by if she or anyone in her family wanted to talk or needed help. I told her that God loves us all and gives us all grace and mercy when we ask. I am praying for God to give them comfort and protection and truly hope that this is an opportunity to share His love and minister to this family. It is not common for me to stay home from work - even sick. So I completely feel that I was home for a purpose and that this story is not over. I am amazed by a little girl's desire to help her family and willingness to humble herself by going door to door to ask for help. I thank God for letting her knock on our door and for letting me be home to open it.
We have also begun to collect items for our backpacks for the homeless folks in our area. If anyone would like to donate used backpacks, cans of tuna in oil, cans of mandarin oranges, travel toothbrushes, wool blankets, tarps, Bibles, canned beef stew or time to serve please reply to this blog and I will get in touch with you.
