Always Enough

"I am not saying this because I am in need, for I have learned to be content whatever the circumstances. I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation."
-Phil. 4:11-12

A full ten days before payday, and I know it is bad. I forgot to write that one check in the register...and I overspent my two hundred dollar a month grocery budget by sixty dollars this month...and we are out of milk, bread, jelly and eggs. The peanut butter and jelly that become our staples those few days before payday had no bread and no jelly to serve as sandwiches. The cereal supper that happens occasionally at the end of the month when all the rest of the food runs out had no milk...sigh...

So, I log in to see the balance of my account and the sigh becomes a groan. That check that I wrote and couldn't remember? It has the markings of disaster. The balance...reads...$0.01. That is right. In the midst of my groan, thanksgiving bursts forth. This disaster could be so much worse. I could have overdrawn the account which would mean exorbitant fees and reaching in to the next month's grocery budget. So, here I am with little food for the family, but a heart full of gratitude to the God who keeps us even in the midst of this mama's forgetfulness. His hand of protection evident in even this!

The husband and I, we bend our heads and give thanks for the Lord's abundant provision for us. And present our request before God. He knows what we need, so why be anxious about it? He is busy about providing for us, even before we know what our needs are.

Sunday, we walk in to church...and an envelope sits in our box, our name penned in uneven slanting letters across the front. The husband opens it and a twenty dollar bill falls out. We give thanks with great joy and share the story with our kids as we stop at the market on the way home. We tell them so they know His provision is always what we need and always just in time. And the cupboard? It is stocked once again with bread, peanut butter and jelly. The refrigerator? It again cools two gallons of milk. Another month that our family is fed, only by His grace...and so we bend our heads in gratitude to the God who cares for our every need.

I never cease to be amazed and overwhelmed by the God who gives us far more than we could ever ask or imagine in His perfect timing. His grace is sufficient for me...and it is sufficient for you! Today, may you know the Lord's abundant provision for you, may your eyes be open to see and understand His great love for you...and that He has made provision for each of our greatest needs through Jesus Christ our Lord. You are loved and cared for...by the Creator of the Universe!