Financial Faith in a Time of High Gas Prices

I've heard many people, both Christian and Non-Christian, ask the question of why doesn't God seem to speak to people the way you see in the Bible? I've come to believe that He does, but not the way we often expect. It's not so much a burning bush as it is a whisper or a nudge in your heart when you're put in the position where you have to choose between faith and fear.

The problem is life is so hectic and stressful these days that if you're not paying attention, the message gets lost in the mess of other messages we get on a daily basis. Sometimes however, maybe even once in a lifetime, you have a moment happen to you that you can't ignore.

I had just gotten off of work after a my 2nd 10-hour shift in a row. My husband was wonderful enough to start us some tacos, but we needed some tomatoes and lettuce. So I drove less than a mile to a nearby Food City. I pulled up in the parking lot in a regular space next to a handicap space where a car was parked. My eyes briefly met with the driver, who nodded that it was all right for me to open my vehicle door before he did. I was about to go toward the door when the man, along with a woman and small girl, got out of their car.

"Excuse me?" he asked, taking out a stack of papers stapled together.

"Yes?"

I was in a hurry. I didn't know what they wanted or were selling or...

"Do you care to sign this petition? The local college is about to cut funding for a children's hearing and speech program that my little girl is apart of...she's almost deaf, and we honestly have no idea how we're going to do without this program. My wife and I are going around the area. It's the only thing we can thing of to do."

I stopped in my tracks, embarrassed that I had come within seconds of just ignoring them completely and making some excuse that I was in a rush. I talked with the young couple for a moment, and they gave me more details of the situation. Their little girl came up to me. She had to be around 4, maybe 5 tops.

"Hi!" she said with a smile.

She was probably one of the most happy-go-lucky little kids I'd ever seen.

"She's going to need tubes put in her ears in about a year, but even then she'll still need someone to work with her," her dad said as I signed the petition.

I wished them luck and went into the store to get my shopping done. In the back of my mind, I kept thinking about the struggles my own parents went through with my younger brother having autistic symptoms and the financial impact that had on our family. I realized a fraction of what that couple was likely going through, and it broke my heart.

I made it out of the store before they did. I loaded the grocery bags into my van and was about to leave when I had a strange idea hit me. I don't even want to take credit for it, and if it wasn't vital to this story it would've been left between me and God. At any rate, I took all the cash I had in my purse in the form of bills and slid it through the cracked window of the family's car. I'll be honest with you in that I hesitated...my husband and I are not wealthy yet, and there was a bit of fear there in what I did...but I listened to what I think God wanted me to do.

After I did it, I focused my attention back on life. My husband and I had dinner, watched some TV, and then went to bed. I really didn't give the situation any more thought, other than wishing I could have done more.

The following night, I operated a broadcast camera for our local church. Since it's a large church, there are people who I know their faces but not their names. After the service, a woman approached me that I knew as a member of the church but not very well.

"God wants you to have this for gas," she stated, and she left almost as quickly as she had approached me. It was just barely enough time to realize what she was handing me and tell her thanks.

I looked down in shock. It was 4 times the amount I had put the couple's car...less than 24 hours from when initial event had happened!

I know some people will call it coincidence or chance. I call it God sending a message that He'll take care of everything if you just trust and listen to Him. This happened less than a week from when I'm writing this, and I'm still trying to process it all. From now on however, I'm definitely going to be willing to listen.