“Della”
has a very difficult load for a 13-year-old. She
has to care for her mother — an illiterate recovering alcoholic,
and cancer survivor — as well as her autistic brother. But the
Lord has touched Della. He is the only father she has ever known and
she loves and trusts Him.
Because
money is tight for Della's family, she works several paper routes so
she can write checks for household bills. It’s a struggle which
I, as her Sunday School teacher, often observe through her prayers for
unpaid bills and grocery money.
One
Sunday, dressed in her only pair of jeans and t-shirt, suddenly a size
too small, Della asked, "Can we pray about my clothes? Is that
selfish?” I assured her that yes; her Heavenly Father took note
of her wardrobe deficiencies and cared. We could ask Him to supply.
Proof
of His touch on her life came when someone donated several boxes of
quality hand-me-downs for Della and I took them to her. As she sorted
through the boxes, grateful tears sprang to Della’s eyes. “Don’t
worry,” she assured me. “Anything I can’t wear I’ll
take to the women’s crisis center.”
Amazing!
In the midst of her neediness, coping with a difficult mother and a
tenuous home situation, she could think of others who were less fortunate
than herself. She knew what nice clothing could mean to someone homeless
and in crisis.
Build Your Life on This
A bedrock principle of faith and prosperity throughout the scriptures
is that God requires that we be faithful with the little before He will
make us faithful over much. (Luke 19:13) He often taps the poor to help
the dirt-poor so He can miraculously lavish blessings on them both.
He asked the widow of Zerephath, a hungry single mother, to give her
last pita to a starving prophet, (1 Kings 17). When she faithfully gave
God what little she had, He miraculously provided for them all throughout
a famine. When food was needed for a multitude, and a boy volunteered
his three-day-old-lunch, Jesus used it to feed 5000 men plus women and
children — with leftovers to share.
So what do you need? Time? Money? Talent? Friendship?
What has He already given you? Use it, Share it. Give it to the Lord
and He will bless it for your benefit, for others, and for the kingdom.
Used by permission:
© Rebekah Montgomery 2008
For reprint requests, contact Rebekah at her website, www.Rebekah
Montgomery.com
Rebekah Montgomery, author/speaker/teacher, is a gifted, dynamic communicator.
She is the author of more than five books and has penned 1,100 articles.
She shares tough real-life topics and biblical application.
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