Provison

I am continually blown away by God in so many areas of life. However, yesterday I sat in awe as I once again saw God provide unexpectedly for my children in a grace-filled way. As I basked in his provision, I also reflected on his past provision and was once again reminded of what grace truly is. Grace is not something I can earn. Grace is not something I deserve and it's not something I can strategically set myself up to be the beneficiary of. Grace is completely undeserved favor.

When Kelli and I first found out we were going to be having twins, the thought of providing for them was quite overwhelming. Then God showed me his provision. Our friends Robbie and Katie Britt have 2 beautiful children, a boy and a girl, who are several years older than our kiddos. They invited us over to their house while Kelli was pregnant, showed us a car load full of baby clothes, toys, formula, high chairs and more and told us to take whatever we wanted. We literally drove away with our 1997 Ford Explorer filled to the brim. It was an amazing experience of generosity, the grace of God through his people and ultimately his provision.

The story continues. Shortly after we had the kids Kelli and Tiffany went for a walk at the mall where a new baby and children's store was having it's grand opening. Crazy 8 is the name of the store and they were having drawings with prizes so Kelli and Tiff both signed up. Later we received a call that Kelli had won the grand prize... an $888 gift card to Crazy 8. Unbelievable! Again we sat in awe. It's a year and a half later and we still have money left on the card and we have been able to by clothes for our kids, gifts for our nieces and nephews and clothes for the future. God's provision comes out of nowhere at times and it is a beautiful demonstration of his love and grace.

Finally this weekend. A pastor friend of mine was going through some rough stuff with his family last week so he asked me to preach at their churches worship service Sunday morning. I was running a little early and was facing the wrong way to parallel park when I arrived so I decided to drive around the block. When I came to the end of the road I saw 2 little rocking chairs along with some other things in front of someones house. I pulled over to see if they were giving them away. The owner of the house came out and I told her I had two 18 month old kids who would love those rocking chairs and she asked if I need anything else. As I walked across to her driveway where she and her husband were cleaning out the garage I found 6-7 boxes of children's clothes... boys and girls... that she said I was welcome to have. She then said, "I have some unopened boxes of size 4 diapers if your kids haven't grown past that." Again, I was amazed as I told her that Jagen is in size 4 right now and Ry is still only in size 3.

I stress that God gets all the glory for his provision for my family because he is the grace-giver who made all of this happen. I know that he does not have to provide for us this abundantly all the time... that's why it is grace. But it has certainly been a blessing and an opportunity for our family to worship him for his provision and grace. Praise Jesus!