I just have to share how God blessed us this week! 

After a wonderful Monday filled with family fun at the Creation Museum, we were finally getting settled into our hotel room at the Double Tree in Lawrenceburg, Kentucky. We had actually learned it was cheaper for our family to stay in a suite than in two seperate hotel rooms. The room had two queen beds and a couch that pulled out into a bed. My husband and I were busily unpacking our bags and setting up the couch bed. Our youngest boys (7 & 8 years old) were playing with their DSI’s on one of the queen beds. The game they were playing required them to shake their device as fast as they could to earn points. Unfortunatly, Curtis was a little too vigorous in his shaking, for his device came flying out of his hands and onto the 50″ flat screen TV that just happened to be turned on. The picture on the screen suddenly became distorted and dark. 

If you are a parent, I’m sure you can understand the many different feelings that my husband and I experienced in that moment. It was like we went through the five steps of grief in the matter of minutes! Denial – was the TV actually broken? Maybe it was already like that and we were just too busy to notice? Anger – how could my 7 year old have been so clumsy? How could we have been too busy to notice what was happening?  Bargaining – God, please have mercy on us, we cant afford $700! Depression – this trip would now cost us 5 times the amount we had actually set aside to spend! Acceptance – clearly it was an accident, and God knows what happened. Let’s trust God to help us. 

My son and I got on our knees and prayed together. Curtis, in tears, asked for forgiveness and for the TV to not “cost lots of money”. By the end of the prayer, my husband was calm enough to fully listen to my sons explanation, accept his humble apology, and to give a fair punishment (my husband wanted to use this situation as an example that even mistakes can have severe consequences). 

When my husband had finished talking with the hotel manager, we were relieved to find that we wouldn’t have to pay both an arm AND a leg for the broken TV! However, our hotel bill would now be three times the amount we had originally planned for. We decided the best thing to do the next day was eat a large breakfast (it was a continental breakfast), snack for lunch, and leave early enough to be able to eat a late dinner at home. This plan would require a shorter day at the Ark Encounter. 

The next morning, as we rode the bus from the parking lot to the Ark, we soon forgot our TV troubles. We were amazed at the size of the ark, and how detailed the museum was! After a couple hours of looking at displays, we turned a corner and bumped into a family we knew. After warmly greeting each other, we stood for a few minutes and had pleasant conversation. I soon realized my kids had wandered off and exscused myself to track them down. Before I walked away, the lady I was talking to put something in my hand. 

“God told me to give this to you.”

Later, my husband and I gulped down amazement and emotion as we learned she had slipped us $100! Needless to say, we enjoyed a nice lunch, were able to stay and see all of the Ark displays, and even ate dinner on the way home! 

God didn’t have to give us that money. It wasn’t necessarily a need. We would have been fine snacking on pretzels instead of feasting on hamburgers and fried chicken. Cutting back on our meals that day wouldn’t have helped pay for even half of the TV cost. It would have made my husband feel better about our finances, however, to spend $80 less that day.  

God took that opportunity to not only prove to my husband and I, but our 7-year-old son, that He was in control. That not only would He provide for our needs, but He would bless us “just because”! 

My husband and I have a renewed peace about our financial future. Worries of ” what if I can’t work a full 40 hours during chemo and radiation” and “what if I react badly to treatments and can’t work at all” have been replaced with a calm assurance that God is in control. If God is willing to provide us with lunch and dinner when it’s not necessarily a “need”, He can certainly take care of bigger financial difficulties that may come in the future.