The Supply Chain
“My God shall supply all your needs according to His riches in glory.” I have held onto that verse found in Philippians 4:19 all my Christian life. God has always proved faithful in the seasons of my life. We are going through a difficult season as a country due to COVID-19. Uncertainty is everywhere, and sometimes, if we are not careful, we can lose sight of our supplier. For me, every once in a while I need to take a look back at God’s faithful hand of provision in my life and remember that this world does not control God’s supply, but God controls the world.
I can remember when my boys were small, and we were getting ready to send our oldest to kindergarten. For any mom, that is a big step, especially the first time. Our elementary school was right up the street, but because there were no sidewalks, the bus would come to pick him up. Paramount, in my mind, was getting him the proper school clothes for the fall season. Growing up on a limited income, I was used to not having a lot, but the one thing I always got was new school clothes, so this loomed as an important milestone in front of me. I took our son shopping at Ames Department Store, picked out some much-needed clothes for him, and then put them on lay-a-way, expecting to get them out before school started. However, it was now the weekend before school was to begin, and I did not have the $96 needed to pay for the clothes, nor had any idea how I would get it. Could it be that it was too late for God to help with this need?
We lived in an apartment attached to our little church where under sixty people attended at the time. My other son was only three years old, so I was not working outside the home at that point, and my husband’s small salary from the church left us pinching pennies. One big splurge at that time was going out to breakfast on our day off, which cost under $3 if I shared my food with our three-year-old. Our life was financially disadvantaged but relationally rich, and I am not complaining one bit about this time in our life. Looking back, we have so many sweet memories from those times of God’s faithfulness. Life is a test and balancing act of us doing our part and believing that God will do His part.
Even in those early days, we faithfully tithed and gave to missions. We wanted to teach our family that partnering with God and living on ninety percent was the right thing to do, even when it became difficult. This season was difficult, but God tells us to keep doing the right thing, no matter what, so we did.
"Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up." Galatians 6:9 NKJV
The weekend before the elementary school was to begin, was also the first weekend that students came back from their summer break to Valley Forge College (now the University of Valley Forge). Being about forty minutes from the college, we had a visitor at church that Sunday, a father that that taken his daughter back to college. He attended the church where we served on staff before coming to Boyertown.
Our service that Sunday went as usual, and when it was over, I greeted him as he exited the building. As I shook his hand, he placed something in my hand and said, “God bless you.” I didn’t know what it was at the time but said: “thank you.” After everyone had left the building, I found a perfect $100 bill that he had given to me. My mind immediately went to the needed $96 for the clothes on lay-a-way! With one day left before school began, my miracle had arrived just in time with $4 to spare! It reminds me of this verse!
"Now to Him who can do exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that works in us," Ephesians 3:20 NLT
Over the years, God has come through again and again. As moms, we teach our children so many things by example. My prayer for each of us is that our life speaks volumes to our families of the faithfulness of God, no matter what season we find ourselves living in.
