Image credit: Gerard Van der Leun
The following is from contributing writer Sarah of Frugal Fun for Boys
What do you think of when you think about your finances? I would imagine that for many, one of the first things that comes to mind is pressure. Bills to be paid. Medical needs. Household repairs. Children outgrowing clothes. With the current state of grocery prices, my family has been feeling pressure as the prices go up, yet our growing boys consume more, and our income stays the same!
Recently, my husband started a new position in his company that has a base plus commission structure. It will take some time to build up a client base and begin to earn the commission that we need. While this should prove to be an excellent job in the long term, it didn’t take long for the pressure to set in in my heart.
We have just had one child go through surgery and hospitalization ($$$). Then, the bathtub faucet in the children’s bathroom broke. While bathing them in the master bathroom, I realized that the caulk was in terrible shape in that tub and needed to be replaced immediately (a small amount of money, but also a time factor). The carpets need to be professionally cleaned. That was one we could put off, I decided. That is, until my sons enthusiastically greeted Daddy at the door and spilled the Sonic slush he was carrying!
Pressure.
Until the Lord reminded me of a passage I had studied several years ago when we had our first child and faced unemployment.
Matthew 6:24 “No one can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and wealth.”
When I thought of “serving wealth,” I always pictured a wealthy person still clamoring for more. However, the next verse says,
“For this reason I say to you, do not be worried about your life, as to what you will eat or what you will drink;”
And in verse 32-33: “…for your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things. But seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.”
I realized that worrying about not having enough money was serving money just as seeking an undue amount of wealth was serving money! God doesn’t want us to do either!
On Tuesday, we went to Lowe’s to buy a new faucet. I had to ask for help, because the broken faucet wouldn’t come off the tub, and I didn’t know if I should force it or not. The employee at Lowe’s told that me that I should really just call a plumber because the valve in the faucet was probably broken. I cringed over the thought of the plumber bill, but called anyway. Within 2 hours, a plumber had come to our home, determined the problem to be just the plastic faucet piece, and left… without charging us any service fee. We went back to the store, bought a $9 part, and fixed the faucet.
Good luck? No, God’s Provision.
How have you seen God provide during difficult times?
About Sarah Dees
Sarah is a Christian mom of three sons who shares inexpensive ways to keep boys busy at Frugal Fun for Boys. She features activities, homeschooling tips, and thoughts on teaching boys God’s Word. You can connect with her on Twitter and Facebook.
Read more by Sarah -> | Blog
I really needed to read that! I am constantly worrying about money and all the expenses we have. I need to learn to let go and let God!
@Jaimie, Thanks for your comment! I know what you mean – It’s so easy to make worrying about money a habit. May God show Himself faithful in your situation!
Sarah Dees´s last blog post ..Pet Show Themed Birthday Party
When I was stationed at Camp Lejeune, it was a tough time financially. We were living paycheck-to-paycheck. I would still tithe and when times got really tough, a check from my dad or some other unexpected money showed up at the right time – God’s time! He is so good!
@Melissa, What a good point. We have had times where we were tempted to give up tithing because we felt like we needed the money, but God has always provided! He doesn’t need us to go around His plan in order to provide for us!
Sarah Dees´s last blog post ..Pet Show Themed Birthday Party
I too worry about it all the time…we recently got stationed in HI, which has to be the homeless capitol of the nation…that is for a good reason…a gallon of milk here costs about 7 bucks! That is really hard on a one income household (even military) and we just learned that we will most likely be expected to pay more for insurance and get less out of it as well as get money taken from some of our allowances. Let me say, I AM WORRIED! It is so hard in times like this…On top of that I have a fractured tooth that I can pull for 200 or get fixed for 1300. Hard decision…I have been praying for God to tell me what to do about it. I REALLY am not sure about it, but I KNOW that God will provide for what the route HE has chosen for me. Thank you for this post…its a great reminder.
Missy´s last blog post ..Star Theme
Hey Missy,
I’ve heard that about Hawaii, too, that it’s so expensive. I’ve heard of the expired coupons for overseas military, but wonder if you could use expired coupons at the commissary in Hawaii? Are you or your hubby in the military? Send me a msg at hulinmr2002 at yahoo dot com and I will try to help as much as possible. Service is my spiritual gift, so I can’t help but want to help! lol
@Melissa, Indeed hubby is military. Luckily we only have two years left. 🙂 I had actually said all that to say thank you for the post…We have been praying that God will provide for our finances and we will stop relying on credit cards…that is not an easy thing to do in this day and age where almost EVERYTHING relies on whether you have credit or not 😉 It was a blessing and God used you to remind me to take everything back to him…BTW as for expired coupons as far I can tell they do not…unless they are military coupons.
Missy´s last blog post ..Star Theme
When I was young, I remembered my parents’ problems with finances. But no matter how big the problem was, my mother was so calm. I was really so impressed with how my mom handles our problem since we always made it through. She taught us that we should put our trust in God and seek guidance on our decisions.
Kimberly´s last blog post ..how to flirt with a girl