God provides

I am often amazed how well God provides, even though I shouldn't be. Perhaps some would say life is full of coincidences, of luck, of fortuitous happenstances. But, it's more than that. No matter how desperate life has felt, God has always provided.

During leaner months, when simple food staples have run out and we're waiting a few days for a paycheck, God always seems to send an unexpected gift or meal our way. My mother is a conduit for this! Even though I don't tell her our needs, she always seems to send us a loaf of homemade bread or a bag of bananas at just the right time. Another friend, who happens to share my mother's name, gave us a bar of homemade soap the very day we had run out of the commodity. Even more recently, I was considering the spring purchases I was going to need to make. Among my list were new hats for the boys. The very day I made that list, my NYC buddy sent us a care package with tons of goodies - including floppy summer hats for the boys.

Most people think that teaching in the public schools is just grand - after all, teachers get two whole months off for the summer! Yet, consider - teachers are 10-month employees. So, it's more like they're laid off for the summer. Teachers with families often need to find other jobs to compensate for those summer months. And, as Russell considers his options, God again proves to be more faithful to us than we often are to God: for, he's already lining up bagpiping gigs, which we did not expect.

Do you have moments like this, friend? Moments that seem inexplicable, save that Someone is weaving your life together in ways you could not possibly imagine? Dare to consider what may seem inconsiderable to you, even if it goes against the grain of popular culture. After all, we're not all the same. And, God already knows that.