Every month the youth group at my church has an Eat Together. It’s a meal prepared for the youth by one or more of the parents. This month I volunteered to make the meal and thankfully my friend Barb offered to do it with me. It can get expensive cooking for 50-60 teens!!
A few weeks ago Barb and I planned to make taco potatoes with chips and queso for the Eat Together. Easy enough, right?
Whenever I make the meal for youth, it always comes out of my grocery budget so I really have to plan it right! Yesterday I remembered that tonight is Eat Together. A day before! I had forgotten!!
I checked to see how much money I had left… $16.00
Uh-oh. I began to panic.
About that time Ray got a call from a friend who needed some help with his car. While he was gone I started looking for some curriculum to sell. Surely, there was something I could sell!! My efforts were fruitless.
I was in full panic mode by the time he got home. Not wanting to bother him with it, I didn’t say anything. As soon as he came in, he walked over and handed me $20. He said the friend gave it to him for gas money but he wanted to give it to me instead.
Praise God! I was up to $36!! I could do this!!
I planned to go to Aldi after I dropped Oscar at work this morning. Quick run in and run out. I grabbed what I needed for the meal plus baby wipes and toilet paper.
When I got to the checkout, there were already a couple of items on the belt but no customer or employee. The cashier came over a moment later and said the lady ahead of me had gone back for something else. He moved her things to a different lane and called up another cashier to help me.
We chatted as she rang me up, and then my heart sank. My total was $45.36.
No problem I thought! I’ll just transfer $10 from Oscar’s account to mine and repay him later.
I grabbed my phone to make the transfer. It was dead.
I had the girl start taking things off. Eventually I got down to $35 and change. I handed her the $20 and swiped my card.
It declined.
Swiped again (I knew the money was in there!). Declined.
I remembered I had a car charger for the phone so I told the girl I’d go out and charge my phone, make the transfer, then come back in and pay.
I got out to the hot car very frustrated and ready to go home but I figured it wouldn’t be long and I could be on my way.
As soon as I plugged my phone in the cord broke.
ARE YOU KIDDING ME???
With tears in my eyes, I headed back into the store to tell the girl what happened and that she could put the groceries back. I’d have to come back later in the day.
As I walked back to the car, a guy came out and told me she needed me to come back in for something.
My bags! I’d left them in the cart. I headed for the cart to grab them but instead of her handing me my bags, she handed me my receipt.
She had paid the remaining balance.
I thanked her repeatedly, handed her the $20 from Ray’s friend and left with everything originally in my cart.
Did you catch that??? The money that paid for those groceries didn’t come from me at all!!!
God provided them. I stood at my car in amazement. As I thought about what all had happened, how He orchestrated everything… I’m still amazed.