Blessings and Provisions

Wow.

That describes how I have felt over the past couple of weeks as I have seen God provide for us in so many different ways. He knows our needs and the desires of our hearts, and He cares about us so much that He provides at the times when they will have the greatest impact.

Forgive me for the lengthiness of this post, but some background is required to understand the way these things touched my heart. I plan to do some more well thought out writing in the near future, but I had just had to share these praises with you!

First of all, our financial situation has been tight for the past couple of months. In anticipation of losing our military insurance due my husband getting out of the National Guard, we signed up for insurance through his employer. Can I just say that switching to regular insurance after having military coverage for several years is a little rough? The monthly price tag and the deductible make me a little ill. I won't go into a discussion about insurance though *wink*. In February, we received our final paycheck for Rob's Guard drills. So, we lost income and gained expense. We had begun to prepare for this months ago by cutting out budget before we truly needed to do so, but it was still a hard pill to swallow and things have been tight. I am an awful worrier, and I began to stress out about the situation. I even started looked at the classifieds because I was convinced that I would need to get a job. Thank God that He has better plans than I! On Wednesday I received two checks in the mail for reimbursements from things that happened months ago. That same day we learned that Rob qualified for the highest level of bonus and pay raise. The former took some weight off of my shoulders for expenses this month. The latter reminded me that being able to leave my job a year ago in order to stay home with my son was no accident.

In relation to the insurance switch and our son, we were also able to find Eli a new doctor who seems to share many our ideas and philosophies. That was a huge relief because the process of finding a new pediatrician was getting depressing and stressful!

God has also answered a long time prayer of mine recently. Ever since I chose to stay home, I have struggled with loneliness. I was the first among my closest group of friends to have a baby. Being out of school and out of the working world, I found that friendships did not come as easily as they had before. I joined the local MOPS group in September, but I felt awkward and like I was struggling to fit in with the group. Then in just the past couple of months it was like something finally clicked. I began to feel really comfortable with the women at my table and found that I had a lot in common with many of them. I even stepped out of that new found comfort zone of my table and met other women in the group. Through various circumstances over the past couple of months I feel that God has opened doors for potential friendships and for that I am incredibly thankful.

Finally...and this one is weird...I feel that God is confirming my desire for a more natural, healthy lifestyle through His provision. I had basically given up on it when we cut our grocery budget. Recently I found out (via one of the women at my MOPS table!) about a new local source of grass fed beef. And get this- it's $2.00/lb!! I can rarely even find beef at the grocery store for that price! Amazingly healthy food that fits into my itty bitty grocery budget? You'd better believe it! It's super tasty meat too! Not only that, but I am also working with some others on setting up a drop for Azure Standard which would provide even more budget-friendly healthy food. This co-op has great deals on bulk grains, and shortly before I started gauging others for interest in it I was blessed with the opportunity to buy a grain mill from a sweet friend for an excellent price. Now I will be able to take my quest for health even further by grinding (and sprouting? maybe?) my own grains!

I am just so thankful. The financial provision, friends and food themselves don't even matter as much as the knowledge that God does indeed love us and has our best interests at heart. Even if all of those things disappear tomorrow, I will hang on to the hope and grace He has given me so abundantly.

Oh, how He loves us...