Steven was paid on Thursday, so I sat down that afternoon to pay bills. After writing out our tithe check and one for a ministry we support, I prayed. I asked God to help us be good stewards of what he's given us and to help us to use our money wisely. I was feeling good.
Then, I drove our Honda CRV to run a couple of errands. The little arm on the temperature gauge kept rising, rising, rising, then almost hit the H. I asked Steven about it later, and he said that's bad. So, the car went to the shop on Friday, was diagnosed with a dead radiator, and received a new one.
Also on Friday, the vet called to say that Calvin was due for another checkup involving bloodwork and a urinalysis. I scheduled him for Monday morning.**
In case you're not noticing the theme here, it's that right after praying over our finances, two very costly things occurred. Mere hours had passed, in fact. I don't know about you, but I call that irony.
I also call it a test of faith. Honestly, I felt a little irritated with God, but figured that he knew what he was doing. Steven pointed out that we did have the money to pay for it all--in savings. True, but I was hoping not to touch that, as he's worried about layoffs in the future.
But he made a good point. We've been faithful to save each month, which means that when unexpected expenses hit, we're able to pay for them. Maybe this is just a tangible example of what it means to be good stewards. It doesn't necessarily mean that financial junk doesn't happen to us, but it does mean that we're able to pay for it when it does. I just wish it didn't happen so frequently. (Just look under the repairs link, and you'll see exactly what I mean.)
While I'd like the stuff to just stop happening, I'm doing my best to simply trust God through it all because ultimately, I can't place my sense of security in a bank account. I have to put it all in the Lord. Faith trumps irony.
**Calvin is fine. Kidneys are stable, no sign of infection, but he's lost weight because he's Mr. Drama and is making a big show of still not liking his renal diet.
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5 comments:
We have some similar feelings here. We have a good amount in savings, but...well...those are savings. We'd rather not have to dig into it if possible. Unfortunately, we are just having big expense after big expense. Roof needs repair because it's leaking and causing some mildew to form...car needs some major service soon...dishwasher could stand to be replaced, along with 50,000 other appliances in our house.
A number of months after Harmony and I were married were quite blissful as far as finances go. At one point, we were even slightly-more-than-semi-seriously thinking about buying a flat screen TV. I keep thinking that one of these days, the big expense frequency will decrease a bit and we'll be able to save up more. But I realized that maybe this is just what life is like and things will never "get back to normal."
Faith trumps irony. I like that.
Thank you for reminding me to make good financial choices with what God has given me. I'm new to all this, so the idea that all I have doesn't actually belong to me is really tough to grasp when you spent your whole life assuming it was all you!
Glad kitty is doing well.
Allison
Well said. I totally agree about faith trumping irony. :) It wouldn't be faith if it was easy, now would it? May God find us faithful!
my husband and i had a conversation about this topic the other night....whether or not our comfort or sense of stability rested in our savings account or in God. i think it's a tough question to answer, not so much because we don't know the answer, but more because we do.
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