Hi friends, I'm so glad that you are here today! Typically I blog about my crochet business but this post is different. In fact, this post has nothing to do with crocheting and has everything to do with God's blessings and provisions for my family. My husband and I have been blessed in such amazing ways this year that I just had to share! God has proven himself to be faithful to us time and again but this time he really outdid himself! I hope you will find encouragement as you read a snippet of our story below.
First I need to start by giving you a little bit of our background. My husband and I just celebrated our 7th wedding anniversary! We have 2 children (nearly 3 and 15 months) with a 3rd on the way. I am a full time stay at home mom and my husband is a financial planner for Met Life Insurance. I quit my job 2 years ago when our daughter was 9 months old and have never regretted that decision. However, my husband works on a full commission so our income varies from week to week. This makes planning and saving a little difficult. We try our best to keep a strict budget and always save before making purchases.
This brings me to the start of our story. We live in an old house that always seems to need repaired or updated. January of 2012 we decided to begin saving to have our bathroom gutted and remodeled. The entire bathroom and shower were covered in pink and maroon tile, including the floor. The sink was old and rested on 2 metal legs. Our medicine cabinet was all rusted out and not clean enough to store many things. We had a florescent light over the sink that buzzed when it was on. But the thing that I hated the most was our shower. The grout between the tile walls was disintegrating and molding. Scrubbing it with cleaner only made the grout crumble more. Behind the tiles themselves the wall seemed to have disintegrated as it gave way when I attempted to clean. Fearing that that walls would crumble I was hesitant to scrub them. Needing to keep the mold away I resorted to spraying down the walls with a bleach/water mixture a few times a week. I cringed every time I bathed my kids and felt that the area was unclean and unsafe. So we saved up over the course of the year and in December of 2012 had a contractor come out for an estimate. We were excited and were certain that we had saved enough, but we were $1000 short. I was disappointed. We were given the option of moving forward and paying back the extra as we were able. Although this was very tempting we both felt it was best to wait until we had enough saved up. So we moved forward hoping a tax return would be the solution.
The "plan" however was altered mid-January when we noticed a significant decline in our income. We were suddenly bringing home only 1/4 of our needs. We live pretty modestly so we didn't have many extras to cut out of our budget but cut out what we could (our $7/month Netflix was the first to go). Fortunately we had our "bathroom" money set aside on top of an emergency fund (equal to 3-month's wages) in our savings account so we were able to continue to pay bills and feed our family.
But even with our savings I began to worry. In fact I began to be consumed with worry (have you ever been there?) So I turned to some friends and family to lift us up in prayer. I also turned to scripture and meditated on a handful of verses throughout each day to focus my mind on God's truth rather than Satan's lies (you will lose your house, you won't be able to pay bills, you will lose your entire savings, you will have to go back to work, etc)
"My grace is sufficient for you, power is perfected in weakness"
1 Corinthians 12:9.
"The Lord is the one who goes ahead of you, he will be with you. He will not fail you or forsake you. Do not fear or be dismayed" Deuteronomy 31:8
As always God is faithful and the blessings began. Several months of some utilities were pre-paid, family gave us money for groceries as well as cash for bills. We received a couple of random refunds in mail from our original mortgage, and found groceries and other necessities on our doorstep. Easter basket goodies for our kids were given to us and our vacation with my husband's family was funded. God was using others to bless us and meet our needs. Our income remained the same but things were looking hopeful.
Then another "change in plans" came. I discovered that I was expecting baby #3 a few weeks before our son's 1st birthday. Our income remained the same and the worry returned. I again turned to friends and family to lift us up in prayer. I continued to meditate on the promises of God's word and began to listen to scripture during my free time using an audio Bible app.
Romans 12:2 says "Do not be conformed to the patterns of this world , but be transformed by the renewing of your mind." Filling my mind with God's word and his truth filled me with a peace that could only come from God. What a blessing to feel peace during such a difficult time.
We continued to live on 1/4 of our monthly needs (at times less) through May. We continued to receive gift cards to local grocery stores, cash for bills, and overall support from friends and family. We also continued to pull funds from our saving to make up our monthly loss. Although our needs were being met I couldn't help but think about all the things we could have done with the savings and income tax return that we spent on bills. I also wondered how we would afford some other needs aside from daily living expense that had come up. For example, my husband, children and I are all members of a wedding party for an upcoming wedding the same month that baby #3 is scheduled to arrive. Also, we will need a new vehicle before the new baby comes in order to fit 3 car seats. Not to mention the moldy, crumbling shower that seems too unsafe to use. How could we possible afford these things when we can't even pay our own bills? What a burden.
Philippians 4:19 says "my God will meet all your needs according to the riches of his glory in Christ Jesus."
I continued to pray that God would provide business for my husband so we could once again meet our basic needs. I also asked that God would provide for me with a yellow maternity bridesmaid dress that I could afford, that he would provide a buyer for our current vehicle and an affordable vehicle to meet our growing family's needs. I also asked that he would provide the means to refill what we had taken from our savings plus enough extra for a new clean shower. It was a lot to ask, but I asked anyways and trusted that God would provide. For me trusting God and giving him my worry and fear was a daily battle that required a continual "renewal of my mind." The more I worried, the more I meditated on the truth of scripture, and I was again filled with peace.
Once again blessings began to pour in. First came the dress. I found a used maternity bridesmaid dress in the exact shade of yellow that I needed for only $30! God gave me a yellow dress!
This past week our family had an opportunity to vacation with my in-laws. We had a wonderful trip and much needed week to relax as a family. We were sad to come back home to reality. What we didn't know is that we wouldn't return to the same "reality" that we had left.
We walked into our house and I noticed a stack of mail placed neatly on the kitchen counter. I turned to my husband and asked if the neighbor (who was to collect our mail) had a house key. He wasn't sure. I couldn't recall giving her one but thought that perhaps I had at some point a while back. I next moved to the thermostat to bump the temperature back up. I set it to 77 degrees before leaving to conserve energy so I was surprised to find it set at 74. I turned to my husband and said "someone was in our house." Right then, in the corner of my eye I saw my shower curtain and bath mats folded neatly beside our son's crib. "Did someone fix our shower?" I asked my husband feeling confused. He said he didn't know and nudged me towards the bathroom door. I opened it slowly and in an instant saw that the pink tile was gone! I closed the door again, turned to my husband and began to cry. We stood there in the hallway crying for a minute or so before opening the door again to have a second look.
Our entire bathroom had been transformed! The tile was gone and replaced with drywall. Our old toilet, sink, medicine cabinet, and lights had been replaced with new, clean fixtures. And the old, moldy, crumbly shower was gone and replaced with a new, clean shower surround! They even gave us new rugs, shower curtain, and fresh flowers! I couldn't believe my eyes. I was totally overwhelmed. It felt as though we had walked into another house. My husband confessed that he knew the shower was being replaced but he was shocked to find the rest of the bathroom updated as well. A card in the bathroom sink said that our bathroom was a gift, made by the hands of many who love us. Friends from our Sunday School class at church had come together to bless us in such a special way.
God continues to be faithful! He goes above and beyond what we can even imagine and meets our needs and then some. We are blessed to be a part of a community of believers and can't think of the words to express our gratitude.
We are still waiting for our car to sell but are confident that God will provide for that need right when we need it. He is so good to us!
Our friends took some photos of the remodel to share with us, so I would like to share them with you as well.
Before and After Shot
Where the toilet used to be
Tile walls, toilet, and sink are gone!
Awful shower tile and mush walls are gone!!!
taking out the old PINK tile floor
A lot of hard work went into this remodel. Praise God for amazing friends!
The finished product! New vanity, lights, medicine cabinet, towel holder, and dry wall
I love it. And I love the bright (yet neutral) colors that they chose. Everything looks so fresh and clean! I am still overwhelmed by this amazing gift!
The shower curtain couldn't be more perfect. It is made up of 4 different scripture verses
Praise: Psalm 98:4
Believe: Matthew 17:20
Serve: Joshua 24:15
Trust: Proverbs 3:5
What an awesome reminder that this new bathroom was made by many hands out of love and Service and that all things are possible when we Trust in God and Believe in his promises. Praise God!
Our new shower. They even replaced our old shampoo organizer and found a place to hang the kids toys (my daughter was impressed with to find her toy bag in the new bathroom)
Kid's in the tub before....
And after- so clean and safe now! It makes me so happy to have a clean place to bathe my kids!
I don't know how our friends were able to pull this off and we don't know how to thank them. We feel very blessed, and very loved. What an amazing act of kindness, sacrifice, and service.
What amazing things has God done in your life? I would love to hear your story.
Are you local to Beaver County Pa? Are looking for a Bible believe church with opportunities to connect with a community of believers? Check out
Pathway Church.
