June 18, 2020
God has answered so many prayers for me. He has provided resolutions and healing to situations and troubles in ways that I never could have imagined. There is one situation I remember most when I am thinking to myself, “I have no idea how to solve this problem” and I need reminding that God can do anything. He came through for our family in a big way in 2004. We were living in Cypress but still owned a jewelry store in College Station. (My husband commuted an hour each day to the north while most people struggled to get to downtown Houston.) Our business had been floundering and Clay’s health was suffering the consequences of too much stress and worry. He became unable to work. This left us with a store full of inventory, tools and equipment and a hefty monthly store rent that we could not pay. I was teaching and our five children ranged from two in preschool to a junior in high school. I took a leave of absence from work for a week and with a lot of help from family and friends, I closed the store. Removing the inventory, finishing out the last payroll, returning repaired and still unrepaired jewelry to customers only shut down the business. It did not stop the bills from coming in or the taxes from being owed. The next week I went back to teaching, raising five kids and managing our household, while taking care of my husband and constantly worrying about all the unresolved store issues. (Number one being how would I pay that $2500 rent…) I felt as though the stress would crush me. The only thing that kept me afloat was my faith in God. Every time I was in the car, I listened to KSBJ, the Christian radio station here. I prayed, cried and sang those songs as loud as I could. (Driving in the car was my only alone time.) And I just kept saying to God, “Please help me! What do I do about this? How do I handle this? God, I can’t take any more!” And God kept saying, “Just hold on. I have a plan.” I could not even picture a way to fix this. I didn’t have any good ideas. I didn’t even have any bad ideas. This was one of the greatest tests of my faith that God had ever put before me. And then, with one phone call, God wiped it all away. I was in my car and I remember right where I was parked when this miracle happened. A man who owned another jewelry store in College Station (our biggest competitor) called me. I knew who he was, but I had never met him before. He said, “I would like to buy out your lease, all of your showcases, your safe, your tools and most of your inventory.” In an instant, God handled it. I could not have even imagined such a perfect resolution. This unexpected offer from an almost stranger was enough. The burden was lifted. God’s grace was enough. I still cry when I remember the relief that flooded through me. God had been working on it all along. While I would like to say I have never experienced any stress since then, that would not be true. But I have faced each trial with a stronger faith and a blessed assurance that whatever we face, God has a plan. His perfect will is enough. God lets there be trials in our lives so that we will be drawn closer to Him and so that we will learn to trust Him. 1 Peter 5:6-7 (TLB) says: “If you will humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God, in his good time he will lift you up. Let him have all your worries and cares, for he is always thinking about you and watching everything that concerns you.” 1 Peter 5:10 (TLB ) says: “After you have suffered a little while, our God, who is full of kindness through Christ, will give you his eternal glory. He personally will come and pick you up, and set you firmly in place, and make you stronger than ever.” Be assured that God is in control! Smile and be joyful!
God has answered so many prayers for me. He has provided resolutions and healing to situations and troubles in ways that I never could have imagined. There is one situation I remember most when I am thinking to myself, “I have no idea how to solve this problem” and I need reminding that God can do anything. He came through for our family in a big way in 2004. We were living in Cypress but still owned a jewelry store in College Station. (My husband commuted an hour each day to the north while most people struggled to get to downtown Houston.) Our business had been floundering and Clay’s health was suffering the consequences of too much stress and worry. He became unable to work. This left us with a store full of inventory, tools and equipment and a hefty monthly store rent that we could not pay. I was teaching and our five children ranged from two in preschool to a junior in high school. I took a leave of absence from work for a week and with a lot of help from family and friends, I closed the store. Removing the inventory, finishing out the last payroll, returning repaired and still unrepaired jewelry to customers only shut down the business. It did not stop the bills from coming in or the taxes from being owed. The next week I went back to teaching, raising five kids and managing our household, while taking care of my husband and constantly worrying about all the unresolved store issues. (Number one being how would I pay that $2500 rent…) I felt as though the stress would crush me. The only thing that kept me afloat was my faith in God. Every time I was in the car, I listened to KSBJ, the Christian radio station here. I prayed, cried and sang those songs as loud as I could. (Driving in the car was my only alone time.) And I just kept saying to God, “Please help me! What do I do about this? How do I handle this? God, I can’t take any more!” And God kept saying, “Just hold on. I have a plan.” I could not even picture a way to fix this. I didn’t have any good ideas. I didn’t even have any bad ideas. This was one of the greatest tests of my faith that God had ever put before me. And then, with one phone call, God wiped it all away. I was in my car and I remember right where I was parked when this miracle happened. A man who owned another jewelry store in College Station (our biggest competitor) called me. I knew who he was, but I had never met him before. He said, “I would like to buy out your lease, all of your showcases, your safe, your tools and most of your inventory.” In an instant, God handled it. I could not have even imagined such a perfect resolution. This unexpected offer from an almost stranger was enough. The burden was lifted. God’s grace was enough. I still cry when I remember the relief that flooded through me. God had been working on it all along. While I would like to say I have never experienced any stress since then, that would not be true. But I have faced each trial with a stronger faith and a blessed assurance that whatever we face, God has a plan. His perfect will is enough. God lets there be trials in our lives so that we will be drawn closer to Him and so that we will learn to trust Him. 1 Peter 5:6-7 (TLB) says: “If you will humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God, in his good time he will lift you up. Let him have all your worries and cares, for he is always thinking about you and watching everything that concerns you.” 1 Peter 5:10 (TLB ) says: “After you have suffered a little while, our God, who is full of kindness through Christ, will give you his eternal glory. He personally will come and pick you up, and set you firmly in place, and make you stronger than ever.” Be assured that God is in control! Smile and be joyful!
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