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Philippians 4:12-13
Good News Translation
12 I know what it is to be in need and what it is to have more
than enough. I have learned this secret, so that anywhere, at any time, I am
content, whether I am full or hungry, whether I have too much or too
little. 13 I have the strength to face all
conditions by the power that Christ gives me.
In 1986 we moved to California. The sale of our home in
Massachusetts had fallen through, so we were still making house payments on it,
and we were paying exorbitant rent on the house we were living in. We now had
three kids in church school. I remember lamenting to the Lord, “Not again,
Lord, please!” Then our house back east sold for approximately what we paid for
our home in California.
A year after we were first married, I was as grad student,
and Sylvia had a good job, but it fell through. We were able to borrow enough
for me to finish school and move to Africa. Then our second year in Tanzania,
the TAD made a big mistake in our salary, and we were with no money for six
months. Things eased gradually until I went back to grad school with two kids.
Then we had to go on food stamps for a couple years, but the Lord blessed, and
we lived very well towards the end. In fact, we were living better than we had previously
throughout our married life. Back in Africa double digit inflation and another
bigger mistake by the TAD (Trans African Division that employed us) thrust us
back into a hand-to-mouth existence. In spite of this, we have always had a roof
over our heads and have never gone hungry.
We moved to Massachusetts, and I took a second job so we
could afford to buy a house. In spite of my two jobs, our bank balance would
drop to less than $10 at the end of most months. Still the Lord was good to us,
and we were able to grow at least half of the food we ate for seven years. The
old clunkers we drove kept right on clunking. Then in California I again took
on a second job. God heard my lament, and things did improve—slowly but steadily until my retirement
in 2013. I remember walking in the hills and praising God for the prosperity he
had granted us. I also remember having a premonition that things would change.
… Again.
Since then, West Nile virus, threatening blindness, and cancer
take their toll. This miserable pandemic has cramped our style. It appears that
we, as a nation, are facing serious inflation and possible national financial
collapse. In spite of all this, I have a solid confidence to say with Paul, “I have
the strength to face all conditions by the power that Christ gives me!”
Thank You, Lord, that everyone reading this blog has the
very same promise that God will continue to look after them, too.
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https://line.17qq.com/articles/oohncpdov.html
