The Abundant Wife

“Only be careful, and watch yourselves closely so that you do not forget the things your eyes have seen or let them slip from your heart as long as you live.  Teach them to your children and to their children after them.”  Deuteronomy 4:9

I have been really discouraged today.  I’m worried a lot about our finances, and our job.  In our line of work, when there isn’t enough money, our paycheck gets reduced.  We’ve been on 75% salary for 2 months.  Next we’ll be on 50% salary, and so on until there’s no money, or until our deficit is replenished.  The search for more money, more donors, and more fundraisers is endless.  I beg for answers when there are none to be found.

Today I found a list of all the ways God had provided for us in December, the last time our salary was reduced.  Here were some of the things on my list of December blessings:

• A babysitter who was willing to babysit our kids for 10 hours for free.  A friend sent a surprise $50 gift in the mail, which allowed us to pay the babysitter anyway.
• My OB/GYN took a leave of absence, so I chose to see at Midwife at the same office.  The Midwife immediately diagnosed an infection I’d been struggling with for 4 months.
• Brad and I go out alone once a year for our anniversary (2 days before Christmas).  A friend offered to trade babysitting favors with us so that we could enjoy our anniversary, even though her family was going out of town that same night.
• I got enough substitute teaching jobs in December and January to purchase the items we needed before Evelyn was born.
• My father-in-law came to visit for 3 weeks and helped with the dish-washing, laundry, and house-cleaning chores.
• My computer broke down on October 25.  My Dad (who runs his own business) was able to locate a computer that his business no longer needed to replace my computer just before December 25.
• Because we were on reduced salary in December, many of our Christmas gifts met our needs.  We were given curtains, a sander, a drill, money for travel expenses, running shoes, kitchen tools, and more.
• The money we made substitute-teaching in Maryland in November helped to cover our medical expenses for Evelyn’s birth in January.

As you can see, despite our reduced salary in December, God went above and beyond to meet our needs.

God warns us to be careful and watch ourselves carefully lest we forget.  Why?  Because when we forget the things our eyes have seen, when we let them slip from our heart, then we stop trusting God to help us.  Fear, discouragement, worry, and hopelessness set in.  But when we remember what God has shown us, and when we teach these things to our children, we can have courage, joy, peace, and hope.  God has chosen us (Deuteronomy 4:37), and he will not forget the covenant he made with us.  He will not abandon or destroy us (4:31).  If we obey Him, it will go well with us and our children, and we will live long in the land God has given us (4:40).

Then Samuel took a stone and set it up between Mizpah and Jeshanah, and named it Ebenezer; for he said, “Thus far the LORD has helped us.”  1 Samuel 7:12-14 NRSV