...And then I found a dollar!

Sunday evening, before church started, the husband of Abby's Sunday school teacher approached Josh and I to tell us a story about Abby in class. 

As we've discussed before, Abby is a care free child with a tremendous imagination and spirit and so every time we hear those first few words, we can be sure an interesting story is to follow.

He proceeded to tell us about when they took up the offering in Sunday school a of weeks ago and how Abby had a really hard time letting go of the dollar she had ready to give. She really, really wanted to keep it and was struggling with what to do. Her teacher gently encouraged her to give, reminding her why we do and so, probably somewhat reluctantly, Abby handed over her dollar

Abby loves money which is not a trait we encourage around here. I don't want the girls to grow craving more and more because that isn't what bring happiness. It just brings stuff. However,  any time Abby has any amount of money, she wants to find some "treasure" to spend it on. Katie, on the other hand, is a saver. So for Abby, handing over that dollar bill to the offering felt quite sacrificial. She probably had already made a list of things she could have spent it on. 

Fast forward to this last Sunday and Abby is back in Sunday School. Excitedly, she tells her teachers  God "paid her back" for giving her dollar in the offering "and then I found a dollar!" she shares.

A dollar on the ground one day that week and was just sure that's why it was there. (she also found $5 under the washer and decided that was hers too, but that's another hilarious story for another day. She probably thought God was SUPER proud of her ;) )

Anyway, we laughed and laughed about it and got such a kick out of how Abby was sure this was God showing her how faithful He was. We had a chat about how God doesn't always reward obedience with financial blessings. Sometimes he will bless us in other ways, some seen and some, not so much some times. Whether God intended the lesson to be learned through this or not, Abby saw God as faithful that day. 

One of my favorite songs growing up was 'Great is Thy Faithfulness'. An old hymn, but a good one.  It's chorus reads...

Great is Thy faithfulness!

Great is Thy faithfulness!

Morning by morning new mercies I see.

All I have needed Thy hand hath provided;

Great is Thy faithfulness, Lord, unto me!

 

God's faithfulness is SO great. Each and every day, He is meeting our needs. Some times, He does it in a big, gigantic display catching our attention immediately. Other times, it's in small, almost unrecognizable ways that take a focused eye to catch. Either way, He is in them. Every detail, every need. He is there. He knows every concern we have laid on our heart. Every worry and every fear. All we need to do is lay them before His feet and remain obedient to His will.

Early in our marriage, we dealt with a lot of financial insecurity. Layman's terms...we were broke. There were times we'd be at church and Josh would remind me to write our tithes check and I'd think to myself, "with what money?". How was I supposed to tithe when we had bills due and barely enough to cover them? But knowing in my heart that God called us to be obedient to Him, I would write the check. I remember praying at the same time telling God that I was sorry in advance for it's probability of bouncing. Yep. I did. But can I tell you what happened? Every single time? Something would show up. An opportunity to work for extra money, a late wedding gift in the mail or a bill would be smaller than expected. He was faithful. Unwavering. New mercies we saw.

I mentioned before that God's favor and faithfulness doesn't always show up in cash form. Some times when what we think we need is money, there is something greater to be had that will make a bigger impact on where we are in life.

We simply must seek God and pray for Him to provide and in turn, show us in what ways we need to be obedient so we don't miss out. To help train our eyes to see His faithfulness in our struggle.

If you have a need you are praying about right now, don't question for a moment if God is in the midst. Even if it feels like something small compared to a big world of problems. 

I could tell you story after story of my own whispered prayers and how I questioned whether I should even be asking for what was on my heart. But I did and He answered. Every time. Not always in the way I had planned, but in ways even greater than I could have every imagined. 

Now, did God leave that dollar on the sidewalk for Abby to find that day to "pay her back" to her faithfulness in tithing?  We do know that tithing is a big deal to God and so maybe it was. Maybe it was an early lesson to show her that He will always provide, even when it "hurts" to give. Who knows really and honestly, it doesn't even matter.

Because whether it was or it was just some fluke, this one thing will always remain.

He. Is. Faithful.

To Abby.

To me.

And to you.