“The RoseBouquet”

Friday before last I was doing my bookkeeping in the evening, and realized that I couldn’t pay my utilities yet. They were due - on Monday! Where was I going to get the money from? I knew one client should be sending a check soon for the previous month’s work, but it hadn’t come yet.

I buckled down to some serious, earnest praying, with tears. As I reminded myself of all God’s faithfulness to me over the past year or two and beyond, I knew I could count on Him to bring in some earned income, and/or missionary support to cover my bare bones budget. I cheered up and went back to my work, confident that this would not bring my world to an end.

About 11:30, as I was closing up the computer, I shifted my gaze to the other side of my desk - within arm’s reach - there was my pile of mail that I had brought in when I came in from the office. But I had got busy with other little things and forgotten to open it. There on top were some white envelopes. I picked them up, and there was the one from the client, with the check of $300 they owed me!

I was able to deposit it via the ATM the next morning, and when I got home, I went online and paid my bills.

But that’s not the end of it. Oh no, there’s more.

Last Tuesday afternoon, I had the tutoring client I had mentioned here. She paid for the time she spent with me, and she also hosted two of her sites with my hosting service, so she handed me a pretty nice check when we were done at 5 pm.

There’s still more. When I got home I checked the mail, (more conscientiously, I might add),and found two checks! One for a gift from friends that I have not seen in over 25 years, and for far more than they’ve ever sent before! The other was a RRAP check so I had to sign it over to pay to the plumbing company that installed the furnace and fixed the plumbing for me. I took care of that the next morning.

At noon on Wednesday I received my regular missionary support check, which had increased, and guess what - yesterday when I got home and checked my mail there were two more gifts for me. One from a missionary family with seven children. I’ve always felt that I should support them in a big way because they are so needy, but here they are helping me out!

My conclusion is that we should pray about our income more often, instead of assuming that what will come will come. When we earnestly ask the Lord to fill our laps with blessings - He does! (a la Luke 6:38).

Really. If you are in need, instead of stewing and fretting, pray wholeheartedly about your need and bring it to the Lord. He will surprise you left and right! Yes, that includes praying about your business ventures.

I hope you’ve been able to benefit from the series of articles on depression under Ruthe’s Roses. Today is the 6th or last one. Next week we’ll move to other topics again.