I am learning this lesson through the very valuable item of cash money.
See, I hail from a very financially unstable, non-Christian family. We only survived sometimes on the pure charity of those around us, and sometimes on pure luck graced to us by the mercy of God.
I was never completely made nervous by our financial situation. Even when I was a relatively new Christian, I had this odd sense of peace that it would all work, especially the way God intended.
The thing about that feeling back then, though, was that I couldn't find the words for the miracles happening in my families lives daily. And that was because I saw the pain and loss that came with it. I don't think I wanted to credit God with our ups when our family was so burdened with downs.
Fast forward to the first leg of my college journey, as I "lived on my own" for the first time. In my first year I was decently strapped for cash, but I had that same sense of peace I harbored as I was growing up. In that peace, I was able to watch something miraculous happen. I had everything I needed, and most of what I wanted, and them some. There were points where that extra cash was literally a dollar, but that dollar was all I needed until my next income came through.
I'm going to fast forward again, and this time to the present, to a simple story that took place while I was working simply days ago.
While working the sweet shop at the camp ground I intern at, we began to run very low on one dollar bills and quarters--the two most popular currencies to hand back as our booming amount of customers showed up with 20's in hand. I began to panic as I handed a child our last one. I said a silent prayer as the next student started ordering. He pulled out his money to pay--two dollars. And so did the next kid. And the next. When we ran our of quarters only minutes later, the next kid who showed up to order at our window payed for the whole thing in--you guessed it--quarters.
When I saw God's goodness in play, I teared up. I realized the lesson that had been flying over my head all these years:
God provides exactly what we need, exactly when we need it if we trust in Him and His direction.
This whole time, God has been providing me with what His will had prescribed.
My financial situation isn't fabulous as of today. I've been trying to save for a motorized vehicle, but suddenly the world has thrusted this huge stop sign and a hefty fine in my way of that. My recent lesson of discernment had me hit my brakes just in time.
This vehicle I've been saving for? I'm not going to get it--yet. If I do, it'll look very different than the plan I've had. God wants me to save, but for now it isn't in the quantity I've been thinking of for a car, if it's for a car at all.
His timing right now has something even greater in store for me. And just like how I trusted I would have a dollar to my name always, that my family would keep a roof over their head, that I wouldn't run out of money to make change at the snack shop, I trust that God has perfect timing for everything in my life--not just finances--and in His timing, everything will be good.
Reap in the glory of God's emotional and physical timing,
Ali
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