Today was a day full of provision. We celebrated my wife's 29th birthday. The verse of Scripture that is our verse for each other is Philippians 1:3, "I thank my God every time I remember you." I truly thank my God every day for my wife. I prayed for so long that God would send me the right one. There were wrong ones along the way. One day God spoke to me and said she was coming and that I just had to wait. A month (that is a rough estimate because my memory is terrible) later I met Allie and we have been together ever since. She is such a joy to my life. She does so much for me and I would truly be lost without her. Whenever we celebrate her birthday, I feel like I'm celebrating mine because she is the greatest gift I have ever received. She challenges me and encourages me. She puts me in my place and holds me when life is beating on me. I love her and I look forward to the next 29 years with her by the grace of God.
God also provided in another big way today. As many people know we are expecting our third child in the midst of owning a small SUV and a four door sedan. Needless to say the car space we have is not going to be enough to hold three car seats at a time. So, we started our search for a mini van and since I am the stay at home parent, I will be driving the aforementioned van. I have come to grips with this reality and I refuse to let it take away my cool points (if I even had any to begin with). The boys were being a little wild today and we both felt like we needed a little break and had time to kill, so we got a last minute babysitter to watch them for a couple of hours so we could go look for a van. After getting some frozen yogurt (which was awesome!), we headed to the dealership with the intent of inquiring and not buying. Maybe it was the yogurt, but 2 hours later, we had just traded in our sedan for a minivan. I was nervous about the purchase, but my amazing wife was convinced that this was God providing for our family. We got what we wanted on the trade-in and our monthly payments will actually be less for the van than they were for the car. God is so amazing how He knows exactly what we need and leads us to the right places to provide it for us.
The last way God provided was in the form of opportunity. The salesman was very helpful and nice. Through our conversation, I learned that he was a musician who plays many instruments (27 to be exact). So, I invited him to our church coffeehouse. He said he hadn't been to church in a while and hinted that it was not a big priority. I will be praying for more opportunities with him and praying that God will lead him to our coffeehouse so that he may hear the beautiful story of Jesus.
The last way God provided was a teaching moment. I felt like I could have taken more advantage of the opportunity He provided with the salesman, but I still get nervous at times when talking about things of faith. It does not happen all the time, but there are times when it does. I used to be very shy and that shyness still lingers. As I rocked my youngest son to sleep tonight, I prayed that God would give me boldness. I want to stop caring about what people are thinking of me and serve my Lord with all my heart and soul. I want my passion for Him to pour out of me and my conversations and words to be seasoned with salt and full of grace.
So, what I will take away from today is that there is no better place to be than living under God's provision whether it comes materially or in a time of teaching. I love how He provides and know that it is only by His grace that I have what I have.
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