Nitty Gritty story. . . faith building for Abiel

After my last misconstrued attempt at "nitty gritty sharing" about our new adventure, I have been a bit hesitant to dive into the details of what we are experiencing on a day to day basis. Instead, I have defaulted to sharing the verses or thoughts that are teaching me and sustaining me through this time of transition. And. . . it really is easier to share a situation once the resolution has come rather than in the ambiguity of the moment! Here's a recent, intense moment we shared as a family that grew Abiel and I in our faith and perseverance.

The last of our last paycheck ran out almost two weeks ago. The good news is that we knew we had a substantial amount coming from a videography job Heath was completing. BUT we were down to slim groceries (no complaints, just looking forward to some variety) and no gas in the van. This wasn't a problem for anyone except Abiel! No one, except Abiel, HAD to be anywhere. Heath was able to reschedule meetings and have phone interviews rather than driving and I didn't have any pressing driving needs!

Abiel, on the other hand, had two 4-H meetings that she was part of a demonstration of her project, and a ballet class in which she was going to be able to pick up her costume for their upcoming production of The Secret Garden. Any other week she would've been able to miss the meetings and class with some remorse, but with a good attitude nonetheless. It just "happened" that the week we have NO GAS is the week it is most important to be there!

A few days before the meetings, I sat her down and shared the gas situation. I explained that is seemed this was a set up for her to grow in her ability to trust God and have faith in Him for herself. I explained that our adventures are not just about Heath and I, but opportunities for our whole family to learn how to trust God when we can't see the answers. In that moment, she was on board with her responsibility to pray and wait on God for miraculous provision. We talked about how God might come through (money in the mailbox, money out of nowhere, gas tank filled up miraculously, etc). It was a fun "I wonder how" conversation. Then we prayed.

A couple days later, on Saturday, after the mail came and nothing miraculous had happened, she was slightly grumpy. When I asked what was wrong, she declared with great intensity, "I am going to be really, really upset if God doesn't come through and I have to miss my meetings!"
To which I responded, "I TOTALLY understand! We've been there before!" Her meeting was in two days and the mail doesn't come on Sunday! This was opportunity for a beautiful conversation and prayer time between us. We were both in tears as we talked through the real possibility that she may have to miss the meetings. We processed whether or not she could still believe God was loving and good and cared about her if he seemingly didn't "come through" for her in this. And in the end, her heart was so soft and trusting the Lord that I was grateful for this intense learning opportunity (though my mommy heart wished with everything in me I had the gas money and didn't have to see her struggle).

Well, the story gets better!! We had loaned our lawnmower to some friends awhile back. That afternoon they decided to bring it back with the 5 gallon gas can full of 5 gallons of gas!! You guessed it. FIVE GALLONS OF GAS was enough to get Abiel to all of her meetings with just enough leftover to pick up Heath's paycheck and take it to the bank on Friday! Is God funny or what! We would've never in a hundred years thought of THAT as an avenue of God providing enough gas for Abiel to get to her meetings! Only Jesus would set that whole scenario up and create answers out of unlikely places and timings!

So, it was a great end to an intense week. But I can tell you that Abiel and I both have an increased awe for the way God answers us!