One summer we harvested a gorgeous crop of grass hay. We counted 334 bales, a year’s supply but I told a friend I’d sell her some if there was extra.
With one more wagonload to put up, my crew asked, “Do we put it up in the loft?” I was hot, empty, undecided.
I said, “Leave it out” because I gave my word. The second cutting would grow. But the summer stayed dry and clover bloomed, the hay worthless for my horses. We gave it to a friend for the cost of getting it out of the field..
All winter I’ve wanted those minutes back where my hay crew waited for me to decide what to do with my hay. I wish I could gather time and change my mind because I don’t like the gaps between stacks of hay in the loft and hope we have enough until the first cutting.
Jesus tells a story about girls who wait for the bridegroom deep into the night. The ones who forget to bring extra oil, return from market to find a locked door, outer darkness and grief so big they gnash their teeth. So maybe this is one thing Jesus might have meant when he talked about the virgins bringing extra oil. Maybe it’s not all bad to provide for yourself. Maybe generosity can become a fault.
I’m Katie Andraski and that’s my perspective. If you’d like to listen to me read this, click here.
Katie:
There are times when I’ve erred in giving donations when I thought my money supply was secure, then my husband’s next paycheck did not come as quickly as needed. But there are also many times, when I looked back and thought I should have considered responding in the moment to someone’s need. I liked when someone in Church reminded us to see snow like manna from heaven – and how much we have to trust that our daily bread will come as needed. There are so many times we can be paralyzed from going forward in faith – buying a vehicle, home, publishing a book (I am currently going forward in faith on that one – knowing it may be a long time coming to cover costs and possibly make any profit on it). I find this quote after we had a women’s retreat on color:
“Life is indeed colorful, we can feel in the pink one day, with our bank balances comfortably in the black, and the grass seeming no greener on the other side of the fence. Then out of the blue, something tiresome happens that makes us see red, turn ashen white, even purple with rage. Maybe, controlling our various emotions is just color management by another name.” – Alex Morrit, author
What a wonderful comment. Thank you. God’s provision is like manna from heaven, yes. I am so glad to hear that you are going to publish your book. Please let me know when you get it done. People say good things about Create Space because I don’t think there is a big investment up front. That is very exciting. I published my book on faith too. And feel I need to keep writing as an act of faith and obedience as well.
Love the analogy of color and emotions. Sweet. Thank you for stopping by.