faithfulness – 5 MAMAS and a blog

Prologue, Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4, Part 5

There’s a song called “He’s Always Been Faithful,” by Sara Groves. It has been a favorite of ours. During the year we weren’t dating, I was asked to participate in a talent show at my co-worker’s church. I really loved this song and could play it on the piano, but I wanted guitar too. I invited Will to come along to play and sing with me. We have been able to sing it together many times since, and it has become an anthem for our relationship.

I will share the lyrics with you so you know can see how this song has been a testament to God’s faithfulness even when we didn’t know how his faithfulness would work out difficult situations for us.

Morning by morning I wake up to find
The power and comfort of God’s hand in mine
Season by season I watch Him, amazed
In awe of the mystery of His perfect ways
All I have need of, His hand will provide
He’s always been faithful to me.

I can’t remember a trial or a pain
He did not recycle to bring me gain
I can’t remember one single regret
In serving God only, and trusting His hand
All I have need of, His hand will provide
He’s always been faithful to me.

This is my anthem, this is my song
The theme of the stories I’ve heard for so long
God has been faithful, He will be again
His loving compassion, it knows no end
All I have need of, His hand will provide
He’s always been faithful, He’s always been faithful
He’s always been faithful to me.

Though the pastor forgot during our ceremony, we were supposed to have the hymn “Great is Thy Faithfulness” in our wedding. Sara Groves’s song is based on that hymn. We have sung “He’s Always Been Faithful” together in various churches quite a bit. Each time was either during a time of uncertainty when we were counting on God to be faithful, or right after a time like that when we could sing about his faithfulness with absolute conviction.

When I was staying with my parents, I was asked to sing in church one Sunday. Of course, I chose this song, and sang it as a prayer: “I can’t remember a trial or a pain he did not recycle to bring me gain… God has been faithful, he will be again…” I didn’t know if God would heal my marriage, but I desperately prayed he would, and I knew that he would show his faithfulness in my life once again. I sang it expecting that he would do a miracle, and I sang my heart out.

In Joshua 4, God told the Israelites to put twelve stones near the bank of the Jordan River as a sign for future generations to remember that God made a dry path in the river for them to cross to the other side just to show his power.

I have always wanted to start a “Faithfulness Book” where I would write down stories of how God provided for us, restored us after repentance, fulfilled the desires of our hearts, and many other ways God has been faithful to our family. Then my husband and I, our children, and even their children could read the stories of how God showed his power in our lives. I even bought a cute notebook but have yet to make an entry.

I invite you to read this first draft of what would be the first few entries on God’s provision.

When our marriage almost ended, we racked up a pretty big amount of debt. We spent years trying to pay off each one. After awhile, we had one debt left, a big credit card debt that had gone to a collection agency. Our dear friends decided to give us an enormous Christmas gift by paying it off for us! After we picked up our jaws off the floor, we praised God with tears in our eyes. It was the last consequence and constant reminder from that dark time in our marriage, so when it was no longer hanging over our heads, we were so relieved!

Once our phone was about to be turned off because we couldn’t pay the bill. Only two people knew that we were behind on the payment. We found out the debt was either erased or paid off anonymously.

After our van broke down, someone lent us their car for the whole summer! When we replaced our van, the car broke down. We didn’t have money for a second car, so the man made us a deal. We could buy the car we used all summer if we paid him $50 a month until our tax return came, then we could pay the rest of the money.

Once our cat got outside and got hurt enough to go to the emergency animal hospital overnight. They couldn’t find anything wrong other than a hurt stomach, so they gave him a pain medicine patch and sent us home with a $900 vet bill. We didn’t know how we were going to pay that. The next week, we had people over for dinner and worship. When they left, there was $1000 in cash on our counter rolled up in a note that said, “from God.”

Our friends, who had a family of 5, invited our family of 5 to live with them for almost a whole year! The goal was to save money by not having utility bills so we could pay off debt and possibly buy a house. Who does that?! We learned how to be less selfish and learned a lot about ourselves as well as how to find ways to be givers like they were.

My parents own a duplex in our city, but for a number of years they lived in a different state. For many years, they let us stay in one of the apartments rent free and then at a very discounted rate.

For a season, my husband had a job that didn’t pay very much, so I took on two part time jobs as well as teaching weekly piano lessons and homeschooling our kids. Money shouldn’t have added up to cover all we needed, but somehow we always had enough and never went hungry.

At the moment, we are going through another opportunity for God to step in and show his provision in our lives. He is faithful, and though this is hard, we see many ways he is already providing. I needed to write this blog entry so I could visit my own “stones” and be reminded of God’s faithfulness to provide for us in the past. He has been faithful, and he will be again.

What stories would be in your Faithfulness Book? I invite you to go buy a cute notebook and start to journal all he has done for you. Then when you find yourself walking through a valley, you can go back and remember how God’s goodness and faithfulness in the past prove that you can trust him with your present.

“The lions may grow weak and hungry,