My fear in sharing things like what I am about to share with you is that the focus would go to human needs rather than God’s provision. However, because everyone has needs of some kind, I want to share a brief—but amazing—story about one of God’s many provisions. I do this with the hope that we will be reminded of what our God can do, and that we will all trust Him fully to meet whatever needs we have today!

At the risk of beating a dead horse, let me give a two-sentence background story for those who are new to Petals from the Basket. A little over a year ago, I unexpectedly lost my job. After realizing firsthand the extremely limited job market due to high nationwide unemployment, I began freelancing as a proofreader and editor; I eventually formed PEP Writing Services (Proofreading, Editing, and Publishing Preparation), and I am now officially “self-employed.”

Many of you have uplifted and encouraged me along my Journey of Joy (so named because nothing in my life is a “detour” to God!), and I am eternally grateful for you! It’s been a huge learning process for me, and it continues to be a means of teaching me more of Who God is. I hope that your journey contains some of the same elements and motivators.

When entering the world of self-employment, I was tickled pink to receive my first paycheck from a client. My friends rejoiced with me, and life moved forward. In the moving forward, I was reminded that the effects of unemployment or underemployment don’t end with the first paycheck. Long story short: for most of us—many of you included—while we are moving forward, we are also having to make up for “lost” time. It’s an ongoing struggle for anyone who has gone through a difficult time or a major trial. (If you haven’t already done so, this would be a great time to purchase and download a copy of The Death of a Dream, by Lorraine Strohbehn—my mom. You can do so here.)

But as I mentioned in the first paragraph, the point of this post is about the gracious, merciful provisions of my gracious, merciful God! On Saturday, I was able to buy a few “necessity” groceries, but still had relatively empty cupboards, containing only a few items. In this case, as I have tried to do all along the journey, I made my requests known to God (see Philippians 4:6), and I did not share the need with anyone else. (Yes, there are times to share our burdens with others and to seek their help, but I have felt strongly during this particular journey to share my requests with my heavenly Father so that I will know the answers are not manufactured by me but are magnificently provided by Him!)

Yesterday morning at church, a friend told me that she was changing her eating habits, and she needed to rid her pantry of several brand new, unopened grocery items. I had not spoken to her about my need; God did…and she listened! I was humbled and grateful, and I said I would meet her in the parking lot to get the items from her car. As you can see from the picture at the top of this post, “the items” ended up being four—yes, four—full grocery bags of canned goods, pasta, organic items, soups, mixes, oatmeal, cereal, and more! Jehovah-Jireh—God, my provider—through my friend’s generosity and her tenderness to God’s moving in her heart!

So I leave you with three verses and two questions:

* “Do not worry then, saying, ‘What will we eat?’ or ‘What will we drink?’ or ‘What will we wear for clothing?’…for your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things. But seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.” (Matthew 6:31-33, NASB)

* What possible problem do you have today that He cannot solve?

* What possible need do you have today for which He cannot provide?

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