I will start off by saying that I grew up a "Christian." I knew Jesus died for our sins and we were called to live a life that glorifies him. However, I didn't fully understand what that meant. So, I just "followed the rules." Eventually, I strayed away because I didn't understand WHY I couldn't just do what I wanted! (Without breaking the law, of course!) Everyone I was friends with had a great life without the limitations of religion. I had never experienced these miracles everyone spoke of, and never thought I could hear God speak to me. The relationship with God was not apparent to me. Eventually, that all changed, and you can read about it in my first blog post. I now feel like God is my protector, my provider, my source of peace, and my friend! I can look back now and see when God was trying so hard to tell me where he wanted my life to go, and I rejected it all! There were some decisions that I made that were apart of his plan, that we're supposed to be extremely difficult, but were surprisingly peaceful. Now I know, that was God. God brings out the good in every situation, even if you think life just SUCKS.
When I started working grave yard, it was "supposed" (funny how we think we can determine our our life is supposed to pan out) to be a temporary solution while we waited for Danny to get a promotion. I was thinking 6 months, TOPS! He was in the training program to be a personal banker, and the others in the program were promoting FAST! It's not like Danny wasn't trying, he was far exceeding his production goals and he was trained for the position. He probably applied for half a dozen positions and didn't even get an interview. He was doing everything physically and mentally possible to get promoted. We both started to lose hope that we would ever get out of the financial and mental rut we were in. I was struggling with post partum depression and the lack of sleep did not help at all. However, God put AWESOME coworkers in my life! Everyone I work with on graveyard is a believer! Not just believers, they are all on fire for God! I can say that I have only survived this schedule because of their influence on my life and constant positivity! They completely turned my thought process around to putting all my struggles and baggage on God for him to take care of! We were not meant to carry all those things, so God asks for us to give it to him and he gives us peace in return.
Okay, so onto our tithing testimony!
I had a very rough night at work, and had a mommy date with a neighbor of mine the next morning. I was exhausted, folks. It was apparently obvious too, because we discussed how worn out I was and options to help solve my familiy's situation. After talking about how we are barely scraping by financially, digging ourselves into debt, she asked if we were tithing. "WHAT?!" That was my human response, not my Christian response. I had no idea how we were supposed to be fitting tithing into our budget when we hadn't even been paying on our huge medical bills and only minimum payments on our debt. She convinced me that the world wants us to think we have to pay these things, before we repay our God for the provision he has provided. I immediately went home and reevaluated our budget. We were supposed to be paying almost the amount of our car payment, in tithe, every month! I thought, "pssh, that can't happen!" But, by the power of God, somehow I made it work. We would still make minimum payments on debt, but I somehow fit tithing in also. I had no idea how I made it work. God. Our first tithing payment was scheduled to come out of our next paycheck. Danny got a job offer with a different company the next day. God was waiting for us, teaching us a lesson. Oh God, you are funny! This job offer was a $4 raise. I cried. This would give us the power to pay debt off, but I would still have to work the same amount. However, I had peace over that! I came to a point where I knew God had put me at Starbucks for a reason, and he is transforming me there!
Moving on to when Danny put in his notice at the bank. His manager asked, if they came up with an offer, if he would reconsider taking the job with the different company. He said of course, but didn't think an offer would come because he had already applied for so many positions only to get a door in his face. This is where Gods sense of humor really shines in our story! We are giving online, due to my schedule limiting the amount of times we attend church. The program was down for when I scheduled to make our first tithing payment. I was finally able to send it in, after a few days of being tempted to spend it on self-gratifying things. Danny got an offer from the bank, the next day. Guys, I'll be real, I fell on the floor in tears. This offer was $4 MORE than the other offer from the other company. So a total of an $8 raise. That's almost my hourly rate! We only made one tithing payment and God showed us he was in control of our finances. He is our provider, and he just asks us to give back what he had given to us. He uses the money that we give to the church to let his glory shine. So here I am, allowing God to shine through our story!
A few other things God has done now that we've been tithing for a few months.
We found a $50 bill in our car we purchased after Danny got promoted. We received a wedding card (Guys, we've been married for almost three years!) with a $50 check inside. Among other things, like multiple bills being lowered and Danny almost at 300% to goal for parts of his production! I am going to continue working the same, not because I HAVE to, but because God has also given me peace about my job and my shift! Since I am going to continue working, the debt hole that I spoke of earlier, will be GONE in January! Then we can really work on getting rid of our car payments!
I'm sharing this story, not to "brag" about how well we're doing, but to show we have not been in control of our lives. We give God all the glory to our success at this point in our life. We also know it's not going to be the only struggle we will face, but God has shown us that he will hold our hand and guide us through anything this world throws at us! I hope this was encouraging to someone, and maybe you'll take a leap of faith and see what tithing can do in your life!
Wahoo! I love hearing stories like these about God coming through miraculously when we trust him with what he's given to us. :) Keep trusting him and just see where he takes you!
ReplyDeleteThank you Anne! I recall you also planted a tithing "seed" a few months back. The people God puts in our life are awesome, even if they may only play a small role! Thank you :)
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