Inspirational Saturday :) Where my trust is.

"The Lord will command the blessing on you in your storehouses

 and in all to which you set your hand, and 

He will bless you in the land which the Lord your God is giving you."

This quote came from a book I bought when I first became a Christian called "God's Promise For Your Every Need".  This particular quote comes from the section titled, "What to do when you are in Financial Trouble".  I sought out this quote to write about today because it seems that every time we seem to be in a place of financial security, something happens that makes me wonder how we will make it.  Here's a little more background.

I am a saver.  I always have been, probably always will be.  When my husband and I first found out we were pregnant right after we had gotten married, we panicked because as college students, we didn't have anything saved up for a baby.  I remember our first year of marriage we hardly ever did anything outside of home just so we could be saving every little penny for if something went wrong and Milo needed something.  We didn't have internet, or cable and we cooked all meals at home.  We spent most of our nights on the floor of our tine 400 square foot apartment playing monopoly. :)  About a month before we had Milo, my husband ended up losing his job.  We were devastated, and also relieved that we were such great savers!  It took Lincoln a little over a month and a half, part of which was spent in the hospital with Milo, to find a job.  By the time that he had lost his job, we had saved enough money to live on just our savings for about 3 months, but by the time he had actually gotten a job, that savings was very much dwindling.  Through all of this, I kept wondering and asking God why if we were being such good stewards with our money, was this all happening?  Why would he put us through financial hardship when we were already learning to be newly married, AND also learning to be new parents all in the same year?  I got my answer when I met my mentor from high school for coffee one day.  I remember her talking about where I was putting my trust.  She asked me if I was putting my trust in God, or was I putting my trust in the money that I had saved in our bank account?  I knew the answer right when she said it!  I wasn't trusting God to provide for me, though I said that I was.  I was actually praying to God to help us out of our situation, all the while knowing that if he didn't come through, I had a back up plan lying in wait at the credit union.

How often do we do this with our lives, in all sorts of situations?  We say that God can do all things, that he provides for our every need, but do we always believe it.  How many areas of our lives do we have "back-up" plans in case he doesn't come through?

Last night while driving to go get take out chinese, our check engine light came on in out car.  My husband and I had just been talking about how the Xterra we are still paying off was taking a little longer to start.  My husband wasted no time and took it to a mechanic today, to find out the the bill for the repairs will be at least $650.00.  To some people, this might not seem all the devastating, but to a college family of four, this could be the difference between us paying out rent or not.  So, I guess I needed this reminder today.  I needed to write to all of you to tell myself that it will be okay, because God CAN do all things, He can make a few fish and loaves of bread feed five thousand.  So, I have to trust that he can also get us through, that I can trust in him and not my bank account.