"Therefore I say unto you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink; nor about your body, what you will put on. Is not life more than food and the body more than clothing: Look at the birds of the air, for they neither sow nor reap nor gather unto barns; yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they? Which of you can by worrying can add one cubit to his stature? So why do you worry about clothing? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin; and yet I say to you that even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. Now if God so clothes the grass of the field, which today is, and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will He not much more clothe you, O you of little faith? Therefore, do not worry, saying, 'What shall we eat?' or 'What shall we drink?' or 'What shall we wear?' For after all these things the Gentiles seek. For your heavenly Father knows that you needs all these things. But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall bee added to you. Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about its own things. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble."
If I can testify to any passage in the Bible, it is this one. Every single word of it.
Currently, I am sitting in our "home away from home," University Medical Center. Keith is here for what we hope to be his last brain mapping test for the brain surgery team. They said it should take about five hours so I brought things to do here in the waiting room. I planned on getting this blog post out today because tomorrow a benefit fish fry is being held in our honor, yet another testimonial to back this post up.
If you know us or know about us, then you know what the past few years have meant for us financially. I'll go back a few more years past my aHUS diagnosis to Keith's submission to the call to ministry for the purpose of this. When we followed Jesus' call to the ministry, Satan took it upon himself to do his work personally. I believe he, Satan, no longer trusted his pawns to do his dirty work for him because after all, they did fail to win the battles of our family and alcoholism, right?
Moving to New Orleans and living the seminary life was not a load of fun. It was hard, and we were poor. One time our fridge was stocked with just ketchup and ice. But, we managed. And God, never leaving His children alone, provided for us. We never went without food or clothing or a roof over our head. Isn't that what He promised? There were times our distrust did get the better of us, but little did we know that God had His army working for us... a food drive was set up by our home church; random checks from anonymous people came to our mailbox, scholarships were awarded, Christmas gifts were always provided, mission opportunities were given...many, many ways God kept his hand on us.
We moved back and the struggles financially continued. Keith was working as a bi-vocational minister and we had added another life to our crew, Cooper. But again, every time Satan would make a move to steal and destroy, God countered with a move to provide and get glory. We never did without. Our children have always hand-me-downs, and good ones, too. When there was a need for a vehicle, God provided. God provided a house big enough for us all, a nice house, too.
Then came the harder times. When Aubri was born and I was diagnosed with aHUS. We were basically homeless, yet God provided shelter. Keith had to leave the ministry and was off work a considerable about of time to care for me. God provided. Our children were taken care of by family and friends. And after looking back and doing research, I should have had a stroke and should have been in a coma according to my medical records. But God took care of that, too. No questions.
And last July when epilepsy struck Keith out of the clear blue yonder...yep, God was ahead of that as well. It rocked our world but it was no surprise to the God I serve and love. He knew Keith would no longer be able to work and all of the challenges that would bring. He sent many angels to provide and care for us.
Through ALL our troubles, I can tell you this:
I have eaten. It is quite obvious. My family has not gone hungry.
I have not been thirsty. We have never had to look for a drop of water to quench our thirst.
We have not gone naked. Please take a moment to thank God for that right now. He blessed you with that as well. Trust me. You do not want to see me naked!
Just as God takes care of the birds and the fields, He has taken care of me. In the beginning, yes, I did worry, and I worried a whole heck of a lot. As I spent more time "seeking God and His kingdom," I worried less and less. I trusted more and more.
How could I not? How many times did He have to prove Himself to me before I believed His word? I'm hard-headed, I admit. But this is something I get, something I truly believe with all my heart. GOD WILL TAKE CARE OF ME! He does it mostly through you. He uses you as His hands and feet. I am thankful for each and every one of you that have allowed God to use you as his minister to clothe this field and water this lily.
Share your "Birds of the Air" or "Lilies of the Fields" stories in the comments. Testify and praise Him for what He does!
