Monday, October 8, 2012

Stones from the Jordan: Part 1

When the Israelites were crossing over the Jordan into the Promised Land, God told Joshua to have one man from each of the 12 tribes to collect a stone from the river:

So Joshua called together the twelve men he had appointed from the Israelites, one from each tribe, and said to them, "Go over before the ark of the LORD your God into the middle of the Jordan. Each of you is to take up a stone on his shoulder, according to the number of the tribes of the Israelites, to serve as a sign among you. In the future, when your children ask you, 'What do these stones mean?' tell them  that that the flow of the Jordan was cut off before the ark of the covenant of the LORD. When it crossed the Jordan, the waters of the Jordan were cut off. These stones are to be a memorial to the people of Israel forever." Joshua 4:4-7

This blog post is to me just what that pile of stones was to the Israelites that day.

Just over a week ago, on a Friday night, my head was swimming. Here, we were supposed to be leaving in 2 weeks and we still needed almost 1/2 the funding for our trip.

Let me back up: We felt that God was giving us the clearance to go as a family to Uganda at this particular time in order to jump-start our plans for actually moving back there. And, we felt that God was telling us HE was going to provide the funding. Awesome!!! We have faith, right?! God's gonna do this!!

And so time went by.

And then time started to go by a little bit faster. And faster.

And then God provided us the opportunity to move from our tiny little cute apartment to something MUCH larger (if you've seen Corbin in person, you know he's a big boy...he needs some room! :) ). But with a larger rent bill, as well. Ok, Lord, we can handle this! We know You provide and we are excited and very pleased with our new space!
"Mom and Dad, I totally need a bigger tub!"

And then there just some other normal expenses.

And more time slipping by.

And I was getting impatient for God to show us how He was going to provide. I was sharing my impatience with a friend one day and in her sweet, whimsical way, she quipped, "Well, you just get ready, because I'm pretty sure God is just going to pour it down upon you like manna from Heaven!" and I understood her to mean that God was going to do a miracle- because seriously, manna was a miracle, something only God could do, with no human intervention!

I skipped around for a couple of days, checking the ground each morning...

So just over a week ago, on the Friday night, I was lying on the couch in a lot of physical pain because of a silly hurt knee, I was fretting and worrying and trying to squelch a panic attack from getting the best of me. My husband was very gently reminding me of all the times God has provided and come through for us. And, once again, he told me to "Have faith, Honey!"

I wondered aloud when God was going to reward my faith with a reality! 

My phone rang with a number I didn't recognize, so I answered as sweetly as my frustration would allow...and it was a friend who had read between the lines of my wondering when the CASCADE of manna would come. (I know, I know- I'm pretty sure the Bible says something about manna covering the ground like the dew in the morning, not gushing from the sky as a waterfall!) This friend spoke words I needed to hear, words of understanding, words of encouragement, and words of peace. She told me to call her the next weekend if we still needed funding and they would help us out.

I let the tears fall- not only did she help to bolster my faith, but she understood the human part that has trouble believing in the unseen sometimes.

A little over 24 hours later, my pastor sat down beside me and asked how fundraising for the trip was going- I gave a crooked smile, took a deep breath, and told him the truth. He knows me well, and I'm sure the look on my face told him a lot about my worries. So he mentioned that the church was going to support us a bit- with $1500! I think he took a moment to enjoy the fact that he left me speechless, and then he walked away with a grin on his face! (If you know my church- it's not big. We are a small, humble, salt-of-the-earth type congregation. People work hard- and although they are generous and a very giving church, this was about 3 times more than I ever imagined! Thank you, Richville Christian Fellowship!)

(to be continued below...)














Stones From the Jordan: Part 2

Then Wednesday night, a phone call came from the Ugandan Water Project, telling me that several people had donated in the past couple of days...over $1000 worth of support towards our account!! I was so excited that I burned the dinner and when Collins came with our dinner guest (they were moving some furniture that had been given to us into our new apartment, b/c God provides for EVERY need, right?!), I was practically jumping up and down (hindered only by the still-painful knee)!  And Collins again reminded me that faith IS the substance of things hoped for!

(Needless to say, I re-made dinner and we had a great time of fellowship!)

By Friday, the outstanding balance on our account was a little over $600! I was so encouraged, thinking- we got this! God is so cool, He sent us almost the whole amount we still needed!

Today, Sunday, we shared at our cozy little church in Richville. My sister shared about her recent trip with UWP.  And then Collins and I were given the chance to share how God has worked in and through us, and a little bit of where we believe He is taking us.

And then out of the blue, an impromptu, unplanned offering was taken up, and a large portion of the church gathered around us to pray for our little family as we travel next week and as we plan for the future.

During some coffee and fellowship after the service, someone counted that impromptu offering...and combined with a few other things slipped to us during handshakes, God OVERWHELMED us, He sent a CASCADE  of HIS blessing down upon us- $1900!!!!!

And so, these posts are my pile of stones from the Jordan, a reminder of God's faithfulness, of His unending care and provision. It is something for me to look at when my faith is waning in His promises, a steady place for me to gaze upon and reflect back to the way He did NOT leave us hopeless, He did NOT abandon us, and He did NOT give us a false promise. It's a pillar for me to find strength from when the winds are beating me, a place to hold onto when the enemy tries to tell me that it is only superstition. It is a testimony to God whispering in my ear through the prayers of precious, precious brothers and sisters in Christ that we ARE on track, we ARE hearing His voice clearly, we ARE following the call that He has placed in our hearts, that we ARE meant to be His hands and feet serving His children in Uganda.

God is faithful. If you ever hear me doubt that...don't slap me upside the face, please.

 Instead, point me toward this pile of stones.
See the pile of stones to the left?? That's what I'm talking about!