Sunday Sabbath March 6 2016  THE CONCEPT OF ENOUGH

When is enough, enough?  And of what, must we have enough?

Dave gave me the title for this blog.  We were talking yesterday, and to be truthful, I don’t even remember exactly what we were talking about but he asked the question, when is enough, enough?  He then suggested it would be a good blog topic.  And then he just said I should write about “THE CONCEPT OF ENOUGH”.  So there I have it.  A new blog title without thought as to what I will write.

So here goes.

There are some absolutes as to what we must have “enough” of in order to literally survive.  First and foremost, we must have enough air.  We must have enough water.  We must have enough food.  We must have enough protection from the elements (I can vouch for that living in Wisconsin), both in housing and clothing.  And the list could just keep going if I wanted to be nitpicky.  We must have enough energy and capacity to work in order to buy enough food and housing and clothing.  We must have enough education in order to get the job to buy the “enough stuff”.  We must have a car or other transportation in order to get to the job and as you can see the list can just keep on going.

But what about once we become settled in our life and we have the education, the job, the food, the clothing, the shelter, and the water and air?  Then we want the bigger house, the better clothing, the finer car, the sparkling waters, the fine restaurants, the big screen TV’s in every room of the house, and the maid to keep it all up.  And then we must work more, to earn more, to have more…When is enough, enough?

It reminds me of the story in 1^st Kings, chapter 17 at a time when there was a drought.  The Lord directed Elijah to go to a ravine east of the Jordan and he would find a brook to drink from and God would have the Ravens feed him.  He did as he was told.  Finally the brook dried up because of the lack of rain.  Once again the Lord directed Elijah to take a journey and go to a city where he would meet a widow.  He did as he was told, and when he arrived, he found the widow picking up sticks for firewood.  Elijah asked her to bring him a drink of water and a piece of bread to eat. 

The story continues in 1^st Kings 17: 13-15 NIV: “ ‘As surely as the Lord your God lives,’ she replied, ‘I don’t have any bread—only a handful of flour in a jar and a little oil in a jug.  I am gathering a few sticks to take home and make a meal for myself and my son, that we may eat it—and die.’

Elijah said to her, ‘Don’t be afraid.  Go home and do as you have done.  But first make a small cake of bread for me from what you have and bring it to me, and then make something for yourself and your son.  For this is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says: ‘The jar of flour will not be used up and the jug of oil will not run dry until the day the Lord gives rain on the land.’

She went away and did as Elijah had told her.  So there was food every day for Elijah and for the woman and her family.  For the jar of flour was not used up and the jug of oil did not run dry, in keeping with the word of the Lord spoken by Elijah.”

As I thought about this story in the Old Testament I began to realize “THE CONCEPT OF ENOUGH”.  God, in His abundance, could have given the widow an abundance and even overabundance of much more than just oil and flour.  God’s scriptures promises that God provides for all our needs.  It does not say that God is going to give us everything in the world that we could feasibly fathom.  God provided for Elijah as well as for the widow and her son with just enough.  Notice how it was even determined just how long it would be provided.  His provision was enough to last until the drought was over.

This story reminded me of a time in our lives when Dave came home from work one Thursday and no longer had a job.  Several of the executives in the bank where he worked were downsized out of a job.  It was unexpected and we were unprepared for this type of a “disaster”.  I was a full time stay at home mom and did not work.  Nor did I want to work outside of the home and leave our young children.  We prayed.  Dave was over 40, over-qualified for most of the job positions available and no one wanted to hire someone who was in his salary bracket.  Dave didn’t care about the salary as much as he just wanted to get a job and get back into the workplace.  He worked full time sending out resumes, and working with head-hunters.  It was apparent that I would need to go to work. 

We thought this situation would be somewhat temporary so rather than leave our children with someone else we decided that I would open a daycare in our home and provide care for other people’s children.  And we prayed a lot.  We also promised that we would not allow the devil to gain a foothold in our marriage and tear our family apart.  There is a lot of stress and depression that can manifest during a crisis such as this.  AND WE PRAYED!  A LOT! 

My main prayer was that God would provide all our needs and that Dave would be able to find work.  As the weeks and months and then years started rolling by, our prayers, the daycare business, and Dave’s part time jobs he obtained once in a while kept us afloat.  Barely.  It was during those three years without insurance or employment that we learned THE CONCEPT OF ENOUGH.  We felt as if   we should put our home on the market.  We surrendered all we had so that God could take us down the path he had for us.  Was it difficult?  You bet it was.  Neither of us wanted to sell but we were willing to do it if it was what God wanted.  Each month I would collect all the monies that came in week after week and scrape together enough to pay our house payment.  Only one month during the three years of Dave’s unemployment did we not come up with the entire amount needed to pay our house payment.  The month we were short we received just enough to make a late payment and it was only 5 days late.  We didn’t even have to pay a late fee because it was still in the “grace” period.  After months of keeping the house spotless for looky-loos we decided to take it off the market.  And we prayed some more.  We were still scraping by.  Dave was able to get some sales jobs at furniture stores but the furniture business was also not doing so well and the store’s ethics and Dave’s integrity were not a match.  You might be surprised at how certain businesses train their sales force.  Dave was taken aback by some of what he was supposed to do and say.  He could not stay and work with a clear conscience. 

Daily we trusted the Lord.  Daily the Lord provided.  We always had “ENOUGH” to eat.  It might not have been fancy or even very healthy, but our kids were not hungry.   Day by day, week by week, month by month, and year by year God continually provided us with enough.  AND FOR EVERYTHING, WE WERE SO GRATEFUL!

I remember our son asking us if we were going to be homeless.  It tore my heart out.  So many aspects of your lives change when you don’t have a job.  My business grew, God provided all the children I needed, I went back to night school during those years for my early childhood education, became licensed and hired people to work for me.  It was still financially tight.  It was still rough and it took a lot of energy to keep my prayer life and my emotions from plummeting into despair.  I did break down a few times.  Dave and I had promised to always be there for the other if one was sinking.  And he was there for me and I was able to help pull him up a few times when he felt he was drowning.  And through it all, God was right there by our side. 

It would take a book to tell you all I learned in those three years when Dave was without gainful employment and the two years following his return to work.  It certainly felt like we were going through a desert at the time.  I look back now and I know it was during those times when God worked on my heart in so many ways.  He taught me how to not be so judgmental.  People would come and see our home and wonder why we were in need.  I can’t begin to tell you how humbling it was to accept food boxes from church for holiday meals.  We never asked, but undoubtedly, someone else asked for us.   And I can’t tell you how much joy and gratefulness was included in those two boxes filled with a turkey and a ham and all the fixings for a Thanksgiving dinner.  Never underestimate what your giving is doing in the lives of others.  And never judge a book by its cover.  Yes, our house was beautiful, well decorated, comfortable, and like any house, expensive to run.  If you don’t know the details of another’s life, there is no room for judgement.  Those food boxes fed us a lot longer than just one Thursday in November.   We probably ate for two weeks or more on the meals I prepared from that turkey dinner.

We found that a lot of people we knew were uncomfortable around us, yes, even some from church.  I don’t think people know what to say or perhaps they were afraid we were going to ask to borrow money.  It was painful but I never held it against them.  Our experience taught us how to interact with people who were experiencing what we experienced during our time in the desert.  I tried to figure out ways we could help.  And that is another whole story in itself.  God filled my heart with compassion and concern for those going through similar situations.  God doesn’t waste a lesson on any of His children.  He uses all that we go through to show us how we can be the best we can be.  He takes what the devil meant for harm and turns it into something good. 

Because of the length of this blog I going to draw it to a close, but this story is far from finished.  I would like to tell you the journey of the years following, once Dave was again gainfully employed on a full time basis WITH INSURANCE!  It was in a totally different line of work than being the Vice President/Manager of the main office of a large bank.  He was hired for less than half of what he made previously.  Guess what, I was the owner of a day care for many more years.  AND GOD ALWAYS PROVIDED…ENOUGH!

 

JUST ENOUGH

By Kathleen Martens

March 6, 2016

 

When trials come

And troubles brew

It could be

God is talking to you.

 

When life is weary

And full of pain

And by a thread

You are staying sane.

 

So many times

So unprepared

For the unexpected

And all the cares.

 

The world falls silent,

And you feel alone.

There is one

To whom all is known.

 

It is God

Who by your side,

Through all your woes

He will abide.

 

What you need,

Regardless your sorrow,

He is with you

In all tomorrows.

 

Regardless how destitute

You may become,

He will pick you up,

Because you’re His son.

 

And those times

When out of stuff,

He will offer

Just enough.

 

He is your port

In any storm.

And His comfort

Should be your norm.

 

And He will shield

You from all harm.

And He will hold you

In His arms.

 

Do not despair

Or turn your back.

Our mighty King

Provides all lack.

 

His scriptures promise

Adequate supply.

And your essentials

He’ll not deny.

 

Just pray and ask

When things get rough.

He always provides

What is enough.

 

Good night and God bless you. 

P.S.  If you did not read last Sunday’s blog you might find it interesting to read in light of today’s topic.  It is the true story of a recent event when God did even more than provide “just enough”.  It shows the miraculous power of him providing above and beyond what was needed in quite a remarkable way.