Trusting Him with the Little Things
Shawn and I have been learning a lot about trusting the Lord in the little things lately. To you, the example I'm about to share might seem trivial, but to us it was monumental. Just like the saying "You can't run until you walk," my husband and I have been realizing that we won't be able to trust God with the big things if we don't learn to trust him with the little things. So, last week, our little thing was a patio table.
For about two months now I have been searching for a patio set. High and low. The problem is, we didn't have the money in our monthly budget to buy a new one. We have been following Dave Ramsey's 7 baby steps from his Financial Peace University and we know that buying things used or for really cheap at the Goodwill is wise at this point in our lives. For me to stay home with Caleb, we've had to make a lot of sacrifices in terms of our "standard of living" and used things are pretty much all that fit in anymore, here and there. So I started browsing for sets on Craiglist but there wasn't much out there. I started to pray about it. Soon I saw a few more options, but either the sets had already sold or were too far away from us. I continued to pray. But as Caleb's birthday drew near, the pressure was on. We had to have somewhere for people to sit. So I started looking harder, more often, and on multiple sites. My sister started looking for me too. I went to the Goodwill multiple times and asked them to check in the back. Nothing. I got down on my knees and got real with the Lord. I told him, "I know that a patio set is such a seemingly insignificant thing to pray about Lord, but we need one. And I don't want to act the way I used to and just go buy one I can't afford, or charge it, or force a deal with someone that winds up being a bad set or something goes wrong. So please send us the set you want us to have. You know our financial restrictions, and I am trying to honor you with the way we handle our financial decisions these days so I need your help. Please lead us to the set that's right for us." I had faith that he would, just the way he did with our house. Sure enough, that day two sets went up that looked great! One was $200 and one was $150. The one that was $150 was closer, but it was also much smaller and only had 4 chairs. The one that was $200 was a great value for the price, but the guy lived over an hour away. So I called him and found out he would take $150! Awesome! However, when I got the dimensions of the table I realized it wouldn't fit in our SUV. I would have to rent a small pickup truck. I called the U-Haul store and was disappointed to find out that between the rental, mileage, gas replacement, and taxes and fees that it would cost us another $90-100 for that alone! At that point we were right back up near the price of some cheaper new sets. I was so discouraged. "But Shawn, we NEED a set," I told him. "We don't have anymore time." But between the money and the drive, the decision no longer seemed wise. So, I let it go. But I wasn't happy about it. And then when I reached back out immediately to the person with the $150 set, it was already sold. I was so much more upset over this patio set than I should've been at this point, but I had been browsing for almost two months and I was tired of it. Caleb's party was this weekend and I didn't have anymore time. Even worse, we no longer had the extra money for it in the budget thanks to a very expensive doctor's appointment and a car repair. I needed a small miracle. I needed divine intervention. Which, as it turns out, is exactly what I got.
I got down on my knees, and I got real with God. I told him I was disappointed, I asked him why he was doing this to me. He knew what I needed and I was coming to him for it, so why hadn't we found a set yet? I was honest, but I also told him that I was completely handing it over to him. I was done trying. I needed him to place a set in my lap, the set he wanted us to have. So I went back to work but got interrupted by a phone call. I couldn't work and talk at the same time so I pulled up craiglist and happened to see FREE PATIO SET at the top of my screen. WHAT?! Of course I clicked on it and saw that the post had just gone up a few hours ago. My husband had just gone on a couple hours before and "somehow" didn't see this. A guy was moving and his house was under contract and he just needed someone to take the set fast. Totally free. It was a nice big table with 6 chairs. Are. You. Serious?! Thank you Lord! And I knew instantly this had been God's will for us. Exactly what we needed, and exactly in our pricerange. I immediately called the number and asked if it was still available. He said a few people had already reached out and one person was going to come get in that mornin but then he didn't hear back. I didn't care, I knew this was the set for us. I told him my story (briefly, I swear) and how much we needed it and that we could come that very day. As it turns out he's from up north too and he decided that if the person hadn't already come and taken it, it was ours. I was so happy. I hung up and immediately showed Shawn the post. He couldn't believe it. Then I told him what happened. We both knew God had provided for us again. But then guess what happened? The devil creeped in, as he always does. But, I thought, WHAT IF that other person did get it already? There's another set on here for pretty cheap so I should probably email that person too just in case. Just to cover our bases ya know?" And just as soon as my husband answered, I instantly knew what he was going to say and that he was right. "No, let's not do that. We already know God provided this so let's trust him and not question." TRUTH! It's so awesome to have a spouse who has been humbled by the Lord and is walking with him. Best thing ever.
I'm sure you know what happened. We got the table. I felt the need to text the guy before I heard back from him to double check, but I didn't. Our need to control, as humans, is so strong. But us trying to control everything shows such a lack of trust in God and means control has become an idol for us -even with something as small as a patio set. We got the set with our own car, got it home in two trips from somewhere just 20 minutes away, and sanded a couple rusty spots, re-sprayed it with a quick coat of spray paint, and we had ourselves a nice, 6-person patio set for a whopping $7! That's God. That's what happens when you do it his way, in HIS timing, instead of trying to force it yourself. But it takes trust. And trust isn't always easy. As I said before, I think it helps to start trusting God with the little things, so you can eventually graduate to the big things.
I feel like the Lord led me to this scripture on the heels of all this, so I wanted to share it with you. Psalm 112:7: "He will have no fear of bad news; his heart is steadfast, trusting in the Lord." This has been a game-changer for me. I've always been a very fearful, anxious person. But that's not how God wants me to live. God wants me to cast all my anxiety on him because he cares for me. He wants to carry my load, to be my ever-present help in trouble. He wants me to accept that I need him every moment of every day in every decision, big or small. He wants to lavish gifts on us that are so much better than any we could give ourselves, but in order to receive those we need to be patient and wait on him. We need to show him that we trust him. We need to be willing to lose the thing we think is best for us, to gain the thing he knows is far better for us.
Be blessed, and thanks for reading!
For about two months now I have been searching for a patio set. High and low. The problem is, we didn't have the money in our monthly budget to buy a new one. We have been following Dave Ramsey's 7 baby steps from his Financial Peace University and we know that buying things used or for really cheap at the Goodwill is wise at this point in our lives. For me to stay home with Caleb, we've had to make a lot of sacrifices in terms of our "standard of living" and used things are pretty much all that fit in anymore, here and there. So I started browsing for sets on Craiglist but there wasn't much out there. I started to pray about it. Soon I saw a few more options, but either the sets had already sold or were too far away from us. I continued to pray. But as Caleb's birthday drew near, the pressure was on. We had to have somewhere for people to sit. So I started looking harder, more often, and on multiple sites. My sister started looking for me too. I went to the Goodwill multiple times and asked them to check in the back. Nothing. I got down on my knees and got real with the Lord. I told him, "I know that a patio set is such a seemingly insignificant thing to pray about Lord, but we need one. And I don't want to act the way I used to and just go buy one I can't afford, or charge it, or force a deal with someone that winds up being a bad set or something goes wrong. So please send us the set you want us to have. You know our financial restrictions, and I am trying to honor you with the way we handle our financial decisions these days so I need your help. Please lead us to the set that's right for us." I had faith that he would, just the way he did with our house. Sure enough, that day two sets went up that looked great! One was $200 and one was $150. The one that was $150 was closer, but it was also much smaller and only had 4 chairs. The one that was $200 was a great value for the price, but the guy lived over an hour away. So I called him and found out he would take $150! Awesome! However, when I got the dimensions of the table I realized it wouldn't fit in our SUV. I would have to rent a small pickup truck. I called the U-Haul store and was disappointed to find out that between the rental, mileage, gas replacement, and taxes and fees that it would cost us another $90-100 for that alone! At that point we were right back up near the price of some cheaper new sets. I was so discouraged. "But Shawn, we NEED a set," I told him. "We don't have anymore time." But between the money and the drive, the decision no longer seemed wise. So, I let it go. But I wasn't happy about it. And then when I reached back out immediately to the person with the $150 set, it was already sold. I was so much more upset over this patio set than I should've been at this point, but I had been browsing for almost two months and I was tired of it. Caleb's party was this weekend and I didn't have anymore time. Even worse, we no longer had the extra money for it in the budget thanks to a very expensive doctor's appointment and a car repair. I needed a small miracle. I needed divine intervention. Which, as it turns out, is exactly what I got.
I got down on my knees, and I got real with God. I told him I was disappointed, I asked him why he was doing this to me. He knew what I needed and I was coming to him for it, so why hadn't we found a set yet? I was honest, but I also told him that I was completely handing it over to him. I was done trying. I needed him to place a set in my lap, the set he wanted us to have. So I went back to work but got interrupted by a phone call. I couldn't work and talk at the same time so I pulled up craiglist and happened to see FREE PATIO SET at the top of my screen. WHAT?! Of course I clicked on it and saw that the post had just gone up a few hours ago. My husband had just gone on a couple hours before and "somehow" didn't see this. A guy was moving and his house was under contract and he just needed someone to take the set fast. Totally free. It was a nice big table with 6 chairs. Are. You. Serious?! Thank you Lord! And I knew instantly this had been God's will for us. Exactly what we needed, and exactly in our pricerange. I immediately called the number and asked if it was still available. He said a few people had already reached out and one person was going to come get in that mornin but then he didn't hear back. I didn't care, I knew this was the set for us. I told him my story (briefly, I swear) and how much we needed it and that we could come that very day. As it turns out he's from up north too and he decided that if the person hadn't already come and taken it, it was ours. I was so happy. I hung up and immediately showed Shawn the post. He couldn't believe it. Then I told him what happened. We both knew God had provided for us again. But then guess what happened? The devil creeped in, as he always does. But, I thought, WHAT IF that other person did get it already? There's another set on here for pretty cheap so I should probably email that person too just in case. Just to cover our bases ya know?" And just as soon as my husband answered, I instantly knew what he was going to say and that he was right. "No, let's not do that. We already know God provided this so let's trust him and not question." TRUTH! It's so awesome to have a spouse who has been humbled by the Lord and is walking with him. Best thing ever.
I'm sure you know what happened. We got the table. I felt the need to text the guy before I heard back from him to double check, but I didn't. Our need to control, as humans, is so strong. But us trying to control everything shows such a lack of trust in God and means control has become an idol for us -even with something as small as a patio set. We got the set with our own car, got it home in two trips from somewhere just 20 minutes away, and sanded a couple rusty spots, re-sprayed it with a quick coat of spray paint, and we had ourselves a nice, 6-person patio set for a whopping $7! That's God. That's what happens when you do it his way, in HIS timing, instead of trying to force it yourself. But it takes trust. And trust isn't always easy. As I said before, I think it helps to start trusting God with the little things, so you can eventually graduate to the big things.
I feel like the Lord led me to this scripture on the heels of all this, so I wanted to share it with you. Psalm 112:7: "He will have no fear of bad news; his heart is steadfast, trusting in the Lord." This has been a game-changer for me. I've always been a very fearful, anxious person. But that's not how God wants me to live. God wants me to cast all my anxiety on him because he cares for me. He wants to carry my load, to be my ever-present help in trouble. He wants me to accept that I need him every moment of every day in every decision, big or small. He wants to lavish gifts on us that are so much better than any we could give ourselves, but in order to receive those we need to be patient and wait on him. We need to show him that we trust him. We need to be willing to lose the thing we think is best for us, to gain the thing he knows is far better for us.
Be blessed, and thanks for reading!
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