I have recently come back from a mission trip to Missouri. Which was great and I enjoyed my time there with fellow believers and the wonderful peace that envelopes Patton (despite the fact that it is the poorest county in the whole state, possibly the whole nation, and despite the drugs that are so prevalent there. It's almost like an oasis in the wilderness....but that's a different story). The Lord used that time to draw me closer to Him, and to greatly increase my faith. But that's not what I want to share right now. I want to talk about before I left.
I'd been setting up a yard sale around our area for a while, every Friday for that matter, to help clear out the clutter from my house and to help pay the bills. But I'd hardly made anything at the corner of 9 and 10. Nobody wanted to stop because it was hard to pull in, and there wasn't much traffic anyway. When there was, people were in a hurry to get home. So I was sitting out in the wind, watching everything blow over every ten minutes or so like clockwork. And like clockwork, or rather a working clock, every ten minutes I got up and set everything back up. And on top of that, I wasn't making much at all. I wasn't having much of a good day. My faith was not what it sould be, but I prayed anyway.
"Lord You know all this stuff belongs to You, and I know like You do that I can't do anything on my own, and everything I have I have because of You. Please Lord, do with this stuff whatever you will. in Jesus' name, amen."
Later on in the afternoon, I still hadn't sold much. I was about ready to pack up when a car pulled up into the lot. Inside was a woman and her daughter. The woman got out and approached me, and handed me a twenty dollar bill. "I was driving by and the Lord laid it on my heart to give you this." She said with tears in her eyes. "I don't know why, but I do know that it was the Lord, and I want to obey Him. I haven't always, and I know that I should. I hope the Lord blesses you." Then with me in shock still, she went back into her car, and began to drive away. I woke from my stupor and grabbed a picture from the front seat of my moma's Lincoln and ran after her waving my arms and yelling. Once I had caught up to her, she rolled down the window and I gave her the picture of a girl praying that I had drawn a long time ago. It was messy looking, and smudged where I erased lines, but I gave it to her. I had loved that picture more than any of my others. The girl in the picture looked so peaceful with her head bowed in prayer. I thanked the woman for her gift and gave her the picture. "I feel led to give you this as my way of saying thank you for listening to the Lord. May He bless you abundantly. Any time I think of you, I will pray for you." The woman looked like she would cry, said thank you, and we parted ways. With tears in my eyes I packed up my things and went home. That woman was why I had been there that day. It was worth the wait.
When the Lord laid it on my heart to go to MO, I hesitated. I'd be alone, with no way of getting home for one whole month, and with people I didn't know if I could trust. So I laid it before the Lord and told Him that if He really wanted me to go, He'd sell everything I had in the Lincoln so I could leave it cleaned out and neat for my moma while I was gone. I didn't h ave much faith, but that was alright. God did.
I was set up at a gas station, and again hadn't made much at all. But it was better than the last time. Again I'd prayed and given everything I had to the Lord, and asked Him to sell it for me because obviously I was doing a lousy job.
At two pm, the time that I usually have the least business, a man stopped by the 'booth' in his noisey diesel truck. Looking around, he asked me what I was selling these things for. I answered him, saying that I didn't really have much of a reason except to clean up and to make some extra cash. He shook his head and looked at me. "I don't know why the Lord had my stop here today, but He's got a reason. Would you take a hundred dollars for everything you have here?"
I was shocked. "For everything except the wedding dress, poster and shelves." I said in surprise.
I still couldn't believe it had happened while we loaded up everything into his truck, but it had happened. We talked about the Lord, and he explained that he was planning to donate everything to his church, which had a clothes closet and a closet for everything else a family would need. "And anything that we can't put away, we'll sell to make money to help those in need." Greatly encouraged that the stuff was going to bless somebody, I continued to help him load his truck.
He couldn't get everything into his truck. Scratching his head he asked me in amazement, "Surely you didn't get all this into that lincoln did you?"
I nodded and laughed at his expression. "Yes I did." I was slightly embarrased then and told him, "I come from a long line of packrats. If it can be packed, we can do it." It wasn't a really good testimony I realized, but it was the truth, and was sort of funny. In the end, I ended up with $120 dollars that day. The Lord had truely blessed me.
I cleaned my moma's lincoln up, vacumed it out, and washed it at the car wash next door. The money that remained went mostly to different ministries, as I realized that I wanted to bless others because I had been blessed. I've always been a tightwad, but I knew then that the Lord would provide my every need, whether great or small if I had enough faith. While I was in MO this happened again and again, and my faith has greatly grown. The Lord answered prayers concerning weather, transportation, freedom, and openness.
Now I am yard saling again, trying to make enough to help pay the bills, but I know that the Lord is in charge of everything, great and small, and nothing will happen that wasn't in His plan first. God truely is in control. And His blessings are ALWAYS worth the wait.
Thankyou for reading today.
God bless you, shalom.
