It's been a while since I've written and I thought I had said all that all that I needed to say, and then the Lord started talking to me recently about a message I share with people I know that He wants me to share with everyone. One of the promises of God is an abundant life, and sometimes because of our circumstances or finances or things that we have experienced, we aren't feeling like that promise is possible. When I was born again, I had gone through a time when I lost nearly everything. I was deeply in debt, a relationship that meant everything to me had ended with a deep and damaging betrayal, I lost my home, my business was in a shambles, and there was nothing I could see to live for. In the midst of that miry mess, a mess that I had actually created myself unknowingly, God reached down with love and pulled me out onto dry land and started me on a new path. And though I was thankful to be alive and still in one piece, the land was dry for a time and I couldn't see how the abundance God promises was possible. But little by little and piece by piece my life started getting put miraculously back together, and I have learned through the process that not only does God restore all things, but He restores above and beyond what we have lost. Not only does He provide our needs, but He provides our wants also. It has been ten years since I was born again, nine years since I said the sinner's prayer, and in one month I will mark the anniversary of nine years since I was baptized in a pool of water. During that time I have wanted for nothing, my finances have been repaired and I found meaningful work. During that time I had abundance in good food, good friends and good times. There were struggles along the way - Jesus told us there would be - but through it all He has been faithful to carry me through and to show me that His provision comes in miraculous ways, but sometimes those miraculous ways are hard to see if we are looking for what we think is a miracle.
I moved into a new apartment at the beginning of the year, and a friend called me up one day to say he wanted to give me some furniture. He's a kind and generous person, but he's an interior designer who refinishes the furniture he has carefully bought and can re-sell things any time he wants for premium prices. But for some reason he wanted to give me some gorgeous pieces of mid-century furniture, and he had them delivered. That is a blessing and a miracle, something that I didn't deserve that came to me out of the blue. At the time I didn't know anything about mid-century furniture, and that gift has led me to research and discuss and learn in ways I never did before.
There are people I know who receive gifts that they are never satisfied with and people who I talk to who don't want to buy things from thrift stores because they don't want anything that is used. There are people who would rather buy one tomato at a high end market rather than look in another store on the discount rack and buy several pounds for less money. I have found such joy in thrift store shopping, in buying food on a budget, and in decorating with divine inspiration, and the community of people around me who live their lives celebrating these simple and not so simple gifts is a blessing without measure. Each week I'll be highlighting a person who I know and their business, giving tips and sharing resources in hopes that we all can enjoy the abundant life that God has promised us, no matter what our budget is.
Blessings,
Jannie Susan
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