Miracle of the last day

Do you believe in miracles? I have seen enough of them in my lifetime to know with certainty that they exist. It always takes my breath away when one comes along and I feel God proclaiming his love for me. It seems to me that they are occurring more often and perhaps that is because time is running out. Who knows, really. I do know that Jack and I just experienced one that cannot be denied.

Because Jack is on commission, we never know what his paycheck will be until the last day of the month. We do know what it takes just to pay the bills. I call it our "have to goal". Jack figured out a daily sales goal of a certain amount each day to achieve his desired target, above and beyond just paying the bills.Working at KIA here in Colorado Springs has provided a challenge each and every month to maintain the status quo, never mind get beyond just paying the bills. There have been months when no money is left for grocieries or gas after the bills are paid. When the days and weeks turn into months and those become a year or more, the struggle to survive can become very discouraging.

 We trusted God two months ago and stepped out in faith to buy a second car so that I could have more freedom to volunteer and work in women's ministry. I was reading Hebrews 11 one day when Jack called to tell me that he had found the right car for only $812. His boss was willing to take it out of three paychecks. We both felt that God had supplied the car and that He would supply the extra funds. So now our "have to goal" has been raised.

It is now the end of December, the worst month for sales in the automotive industry. The end of 2010. It has been a rough year financially but somehow God has provided for our needs. We are four days from the close of the month and Jack has only sold half his targeted amount. I must tell you that I felt tempted to fall into fear. Almost immediately I began to say out loud, "The Lord is my Shepherd, I have everything I need." I praised God for everything He has done for us and thanked Him for providing.

A day went by and then another. I dared not ask about sales. I just kept rejoicing and praising God. Jack was scheduled to be off of work on Friday, the last day of the month as it was New Years Eve and only one person would be working on this short day. Thursday evening when he came home, he told me that he had fallen short of the original "have to goal", never mind the extra money being taken out for the second car. We were both pretty quiet that evening.

On Friday he decided to go into work at the usual time just to close some warranty tickets for an hour or so and I knew that it would help our bottom line. A few hours later Jack called and I could hear the laughter in his voice. "I can't come home just yet, I'm selling like crazy!" Six hours after he went into work to close three warranty tickets, he came home with the news that he had sold twenty five percent of his "have to goal" in one day. A day that he was not supposed to work. He ended the worst month of the year over his goal with fifty percent of it earned in the last four days of the month!

You say that you don't believe in miracles? I do. My life is peppered with them. New Years Day I was fixing some coffee and thinking about how awesome God is with His providence and I felt His whisper in my spirit. "I am teaching you to trust me." If I am being honest, trust is difficult for me. But what if I truly knew that I never have to worry? How fearless would I be? How much more would I be able to teach others about God's faithfulness?