A friend of mine

Please forgive the “novelesque” nature of this blog, but I have to brag on God and I’ve never been very good at short stories. August is usually a very difficult financial month for us. The last two years, we’ve over-drafted and paid bills late but somehow God got us through to the magical date the student loans came through. We anticipated a similar August. But God wowed me.

My co-worker, Lisa (amazing day baker!!), is a single mom. She came in on a Monday morning and explained that the funding for her son’s daycare had been cut-three weeks before school started. She had scraped together some money over the weekend, but still had more than half to go for the week. I watched as she called around on her break, trying to come up with either money for daycare or someone to watch her son. I felt God telling me I needed to make up the difference for this week. So I did. But the balance for the next two weeks was $150-way more than we could manage on our own.

On the drive home, a voice that was almost audible said “Who says you have to do this alone?” And the idea came to me to e-mail some of our Christian friends. I tried to push it aside but God kept bringing it back to mind. It took me over 30 minutes to write a short e-mail.

Tuesday morning, one of my co-workers gave me some money for Lisa. I wasn’t sure how to tell Lisa what I had done or how she would take it. Wednesday morning, I was doing dishes at work and had this overwhelming sense that I needed to tell Lisa about the e-mail. So I did. By the end of my story, we were both in tears and she said she needed to tell me about a dream she’d had.

Monday evening (at about the exact time I was writing the e-mail), Lisa said she had gotten down on her knees and poured her heart out to God. While she slept, she said she heard a voice telling her to go about her day and know that everything would be OK.
Wow. It still gives me chills.

Lisa is touched and overwhelmed at the thought that people she didn’t know would be so generous. She received all that she needed for her son’s daycare. Thank you, thank you, thank you to everyone who participated through prayer and giving.

I just received an e-mail from one of the friends who contributed detailing how God in turn blessed them. And I know that it is no accident that none of our bills were late and we haven’t over-drafted. God is continuing to teach me valuable lessons about looking to Him for provision and the power of His family working together. How awesome our God is!

Lisa’s dad had suggested that the devil was trying to bring her down. But God took this victory! And best of all, Lisa and her son have started coming to church with us. Please pray that God will continue to soften her heart and that she and her son will truly join our Christian family.