Family in Need

"In the passage where the New Testament says that every one must work, it gives as a reason 'in order that he may have something to give to those in need'.  Charity--giving to the poor--is an essential part of Christian morality:  in the frightening parable of the sheep and the goats it seems to be the point on which everything turns.  Some people nowadays say that charity ought to be unnecessary and that instead of giving to the poor we ought to be producing a society in which there were no poor to give to.  They may be quite right in saying that we ought to produce this kind of society.  But if anyone thinks that, as a consequence, you can stop giving in the meantime, then he has parted company with all Christian morality.  I do not believe one can settle how much we ought to give.  I am afraid the only safe rule is to give more than we can spare."  
C. S. Lewis, Mere Christianity

One Saturday this summer, when we were leaving Walmart, we saw a family of six or seven near the exit in a grassy spot.  The father was holding a sign that said he was out of work, and they needed money for food and rent.  I'm not sure how George reacted, but I kind of looked down with a feeling of disappointment, knowing I had no money on me to give, even though we had just shopped for various items at the store.  We were going to the grocery store next, yet I was carrying no cash.

George and I did our grocery shopping and at home, as we were putting our groceries away, we discussed that family.  I had been worried he would think that the family was not really in need, but I definitely had underestimated him.  He said there was a local restaurant, at which he thought the man was a worker, and it was closed with a bright orange sign on the door.  It had been bothering my husband that he had no cash on him to give them either.

We decided that I would finish putting away groceries, and George would go to an ATM.  If the family was still there, he would give them some money.

George came home and reported that the family had left.  We were both feeling disappointed that we had not given in their time of need.  We vowed to start carrying cash, not for ourselves, but in case we needed to give it away!

The money stayed in George's wallet.

The next day when we were at church, there was a young, expecting couple that was planning a missions trip to Somalia.  They captivated us as they told of God's plan for them to evangelize in a country that is 99.9% Muslim.  At the end of the service, they collected money in baskets to help with their budget for the trip.

Guess who had money to give?

George and I learned our lesson, not just to be givers, or joyful givers, or beyond-what-you-can-spare givers, but to be prepared givers because sometimes the time to give is not when you are expecting it.

No Alternative Fuel

Currently I'm working my way through Mere Christianity by C.S. Lewis.  It had been recommended to me while I was in high school, at the same time as The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe, but I don't know that I could have handled it then.  While doing devotions on my SheReadsTruth app, though, I came across a comment that referenced it, and I thought it was time I read it.

I was surprised by the following passage in the chapter "The Shocking Alternative":  

"And out of that hopeless attempt has come nearly all that we call human history--money, poverty, ambition, war, prostitution, classes, empires, slavery--the long terrible story of man trying to find something other than God which will make him happy.  The reason why it can never succeed is this.  God made us:  invented us as a man invents an engine.  A car is made to run on petrol, and it would not run properly on anything else.  Now God designed the human machine to run on Himself.  He Himself is the fuel our spirits were designed to feed on.  There is no other."

Comparing our spirituality to a car?  You might think I'd never pondered it, but I had.  The fact that I'd done it so recently and by a revelation, and now here I was, stumbling over it in my reading, that's what surprised me.

I had been praying for guidance for my husband, mostly with his career in mind, though also somewhat generally.  And while sitting in church, listening to a sermon, I got a special (separate) message:  A car without a driver cannot steer itself; but even a car with a driver, if it does not have gas, cannot go where the driver steers it.  Not a direct quote, but I think I've captured the gist.  

I had never thought of it this way before, though I probably should have.  Afterall, I learned from my earthly father that you never leave for a car trip with less than a full tank.  While I still prayed for direction and guidance, I added to my request spiritual fullness.  I praised God, and I wanted to make sure that as He was leading, we were ready to follow--and had the fuel to do it!

I was reminded of this once more over the weekend as we were returning home from Rochester.  My husband had put enough gas in the car to get us to Erie, where we could buy more gas cheaper.  Evidently he didn't pick up on the same travelling lesson I had.  

As we were nearing the PA border, I glanced over to see the car's estimation of how much further we could go.  We were in trouble.  We were down to the last 10 miles, and we were on the interstate.  We watched as it dropped to 5, to 0.  We had to pass an exit that did not advertise a gas station.  

I prayed.  Fervently.  And then my mind began calculating, "If we break down, maybe I can call Mentha, and I can ask her to bring us gas?"  

I chastised myself to have faith and prayed some more.  We were pulling up to a gas station with six pumps, five of them full, and a car in front of us was turning in too.  I groaned.  The car pulled into a parking spot instead, and we got right into a pump.  God provided.  It sounds so simple, and someone will probably try to explain the engine and how much gas was probably still in the tank, but God provided.

And not just that, but as Lewis pointed out, He is the fuel.  We can seek other things in this life, but nothing else and no one else will satisfy us like He can.  Sometimes we just need to be reminded.  Again.  And again.  I know I am.

~Hollie