A little over two years ago, Alan and I were faced with being
homeless. We left our home in Bushnell, Florida with a U-Haul full of
our belongings and five hundred dollars to our name. My aunt got us a
storage building to put all of our things in and we had no clue where we
were going to stay. For a while we stayed in a house that belonged to a
friend of ours without electricity. It was a scary and difficult time
in our lives. Then, thankfully a close friend and family member allowed
us to rent a one room apartment she had behind her house. It was a tool
shed that had been remodeled into a "cottage". We lived there until we
could get on our feet and paid a very small amount of rent to live
there. That tool shed was such a blessing to us. We had shelter and we
were safe.
I remember going to church and a pastor telling us that everything that had been taken from us would be returned seven fold.
From
the tool shed, we moved into a one bedroom single wide trailer. We felt
so blessed to have our own home. We were ready to get our furniture
from storage and move in. The place was very small so we only got a few
things out of storage and bought a new bed because ours was too big for
the trailer. Eventually. Nicholas came home to live with us and we
needed something bigger. We found out that our neighbors living in the
two bedroom house that our landlord had, were moving into his three
bedroom. We were blessed once again, moving into the small two bedroom
home. It was very small but just big enough for the three of us. Sadly,
when we were ready to move in, we found out that all of our stuff was
stolen from our storage building. That was a very heartbreaking moment
for us. We had no furniture, curtains, household items, etc. We lost
personal keepsakes like photos and journals. Still to this day, when I
think about it, I get very upset, however God is doing a work in both of
us regarding material things.
You see at one point in my life, I
had an abundance. I had a 4800 square foot house with a pool. I went
from having everything materially I could ever ask for to having almost
nothing. We had to start over completely. The funny thing is with each
little step, with every little thing we acquired, we were both so
tickled, so thankful and feeling so blessed. A few weeks ago, we were
fortunate enough to be able to move into the three bedroom home. We
spent a lot of time painting and decorating. Not only did we get blessed
with a bigger, nicer home, but the couple who moved out was buying new
furniture and blessed us with a living room set, a bedroom set and
several household items we needed. Yesterday, we were working in the
yard and both Alan and I were overwhelmed with a sense of being blessed
abundantly. I believe that God wants us to be thankful and content with
what we have and little by little, He adds blessings to us. Each time we
have become more and more thankful for the little things. The moral of
this story is that nothing is ever too hopeless for God. Once you
realize that your provision comes from Him, you will have no reason to
worry about where you will live, things that you lack and you realize
that He will provide all your needs, even if it is one baby step at a
time.
Someday, Alan and I will buy our own home. Until then, we
are ever so grateful for the home we live in now. It is full of love,
handmade items and gifts from people that God has put in our lives. We
are living in abundance. Abundance of love, gratitude and blessings. We
have wonderful neighbors in a close community where every one knows each
other. It's like a family and we love it. We don't know what the future
holds or where God will take us next, but we don't worry. Our faith and
trust is in the Lord God Almighty. We willingly surrender everything to
Him and He does not let us down. We are truly living a blessed life.
Look around you, do you see the blessings? Are you thankful for the
little things? I believe that God will not bless any of us with more if
we don't appreciate and take care of what He has already blessed us
with. Count your blessings, write down what you are thankful for. If you
do this, you will see the blessings you have and focus on that rather
than what you lack. I know I do.
