Provision

After Shawn and I had settled into our house in Texas, I was pleasantly surprised when a few (very) part time jobs popped up for me.  First, our neighbor, asked me if I would consider teaching parent-child swim lessons at the YMCA he worked at.  Nicole was about 8 months old at the time and she was welcome to teach with me.  I was thrilled at the opportunity and quickly got my training underway so that I could start interacting with parents and children right along side of Nicole.  We spent many a Saturday morning splashing and singing in the pool together, which I will forever attribute to Nicoles sincere love of the water. 

Sitting on the tractor outside of the Dallas Farmers Market

Shortly after joining arms with the YMCA, a friends mom called me to see if I'd be interested in writing the monthly newsletter for her nonprofit.  I talked it over with Shawn and we both excitedly agreed that the job was right up my ally.  I jumped on board, and after navigating a pretty steep learning curve, I loved feeling like I was productively contributing to our finances, even though my contribution was small.  It was a season of my life where I had maximum flexibility while Nicole was asleep because I could easily align my schedule with hers. 

Jonah's arrival changed everything.  I knew I needed to be done teaching swimming lessons, at least for a little bit.  A little bit has turned into a long while and for now, all of us are thriving without the added commitment of swimming lessons on Saturday mornings.  I prayerfully yet reluctantly let go of the Newsletter after spending months frantically trying to find the time to get it done.   It didn't seem like a big commitment and I felt like I should be able to keep doing it, but sometimes what we think we should be able to do and what we actually can do are very different things.  I passed the job off to a friend who was grateful for the opportunity and the extra income.  I was relieved to no longer have the responsibility looming overhead but I was really discouraged about no longer being employed by anyone. 

A 70 degree day earlier this week marked our first lunch on the patio this year.  

When I look back, I can see that letting go of those minuscule jobs was a loss of identity for me as well as a fear of not having enough monetary resources for the days to come.  I wasn't all the way comfortable answering the ever-popular question, 'what do you do?' with, "I stay home with my kids" and I was keenly aware that we had just increased our life expenses, not decreased them.  But God provides.  It was because I listened to His prompting to let go of those jobs that I have been able to see His provision so clearly.  

Philippians 4:19 says, "And my God will meet all of your needs according to the riches of his glory in Christ Jesus." 

It didn't make sense to increase our expenses by adding a 4th member to our family and decrease our monthly income, but God has met all of our needs according to the riches of his glory in Christ Jesus.  I shake my head in disbelief when I look back over the last year and a half because not only have our needs been met with ease, our wants are often provided for too. 

Shortly after we had redone our patio I really wanted more furniture for it.  I had a picture of what our finished patio would look like in my head but it felt irresponsible to pay for it.  I had resolved to wait patiently to see our patio come together like I wanted and I said something about it to Shawn as we set out on family walk after dinner one night.  Not even 5 minutes into our walk, I excited gasped as I pointed ahead at some incredibly nice patio furniture that someone had put on the curb to be thrown away.  Shawn said, "the furniture is in good shape but the cushions are terrible".  I tried to hide my disappointment when suddenly we walked past another neighbor throwing away their patio furniture.  This time, the furniture was in rough shape but the cushions were pristine. We had a match! That very night we hauled a complete set of patio furniture home, for free! 

I will never forget that tangible reminder that God knows the innermost parts of us, and He loves to bless us.  I didn't pray for that furniture, but God knew I wanted it and He blessed me with it.  God is the ultimate provider and in Him, we lack nothing. 

What are you seeking provision for today?
With love,
Erica