Memorial Stones

One Believer’s Testimonies

Trusting the Lord’s Promises Part 4 of 4

Some of the conversations I’ve had in my hunger were quite profound. Sometimes the lesson was for me and other times it was for them. When a coworker handed me a $20 bill and told me it was for gas and lunch. I jokingly asked, “Why,? Do I look hungry?” I did not expect her to answer the way she did when she replied, “Yes.” This experience was humiliating and humbling. With heartbreak in both our eyes I accepted her gift, thanked her, and did as she had spoken with the money she freely gave. 

Another coworker having been blessed to never wonder where her next meal would come from and in her incomprehension asked, “You know there’s no such thing as a 5 second rule?” I quickly quipped, “That depends on how hungry you are.” Her facial expression of her lesson learned that day was priceless and forever imprinted on my mind. For those who may not know what this means, it’s if you drop your food on the floor you have five seconds to pick it up before it becomes too unclean to eat.  

Please understand during these times I was working either full time or part time, sometimes more than one job, sometimes with government assistance and other times not, I simply didn’t earn enough income to meet the needs of my family. My children had two meals and a snack when in school and the adults in the home always put food for the children as a priority before themselves. We made food and a dollar stretch as far as we could and most of the time our bills were paid although not necessarily on time. We found programs that helped with utilities, were not ashamed to stand in food lines at food banks and pantries, or to ask for help, this being the most difficult. It simply was a season in our lives and as seasons pass so this too passed. 

People often want to rationalize the work God is doing in our lives. An atheist stated, “That’s not God, that’s just people doing random acts of kindness.” Yes, many people do random acts of kindness and it’s beautiful, but Who provides the needs you have when no one knows your needs? Who is it that is able to answer your unspoken need and it appears exactly at the moment you need it? 

The experiences described above are not the reason I believe, it’s what happened because I did believe. It’s God showing up meeting me right where I was time and time again asking me to put my trust in Him. Each time I did and each time I do He shows Himself faithful to keep His promises, He never leaves or forsakes us, and He’s the only God with scars on His hands and He is the only God Who left the throne room to meet His people. So, yes, a resounding yes! I need Him.