My roommate, who is a very dear friend of mine, was not very happy with me that I was taking this route of depending on the Lord to provide. She wanted me to bring at least some spending money so I would be able to enjoy things along the journey like local foods, day trips and souvenirs. She was worried I would not have enough food to eat or that I would not be able to get things I needed or wanted. AND She really wanted me to pick up a souvenir for her in every country.
Each time the conversation came up, my response was always,
"The Lord knows. He will provide."
This friend offered to give me some money each month to spend as I choose and I was very tempted to accept it. She had already blessed me so much and I didn't want to take from her what I knew she needed. I did not want to steal her blessing but I also knew this is something I needed to do. I knew this decision to trust the Lord with all my finances would prove to be challenging, but I also knew it would be the most rewarding.
To be completely honest, I did not even ask God to provide a souvenir for this friend. I told her multiple times that God knew she wanted one and that I had the heart to give her one and that He would provide, but I was too afraid to actually ask. I think sometimes I only ask God about what is really important so I don't run out of requests on the little things and miss out on the things I really need. God doesn't work this way though. God likes to give and give abundantly.
"Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in the heavenly realms with every spiritual blessing in Christ….. in accordance with the riches of God's grace that he lavished on us." -Ephesians 1:3-8
"Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows." -James 1:17
The morning I was to leave Guatemala, I had no souvenir for my dear roommate. I was well aware of this, but had not lost hope. I did not know how God was going to provide, or when, but I knew He would. After breakfast, there were little colorful change purses sitting on a stool for each of us to take! The doctors that worked with our ministry contact set them out to give to us! There were only a handful left by the time I found them and one was colorful with lots of pink, my roommate's favorite color! My roommate loves purses and wallets and change purses and this was perfect! God gave me a gift from my first month in Guatemala to give her when I return.
Let us never say God does not care about the little things that do not seem important. God cared about providing a gift for my friend because He knew it was important to her to receive and He knew it was important for me to give. He is so, so good to us! I am looking forward to seeing how He provides a gift for my roommate each month. God and I are going to have a fun year together. 🙂
