God's 80 Grand & Amber

I did a little math in my head the other day, y'all, because that's what delightfully nerdy people do. We figure stuff. We like right angles. Fractions bring us joy. I digress. Anywho, at the beginning of this year we needed $28,000 to refinance Gomer's House and God gave it to us. We need $28,000 in air conditioning and God gave it to us. We needed a car and God gave us two. Now, the thing that blows my mind is that God has somehow seen fit to give a couple of yahoos in the middle of nowhere somewhere close to 80 grand this past year. What. 

I remember our first few years when we paid for every single thing in this house out of our own pockets. That meant we did without most everything like sinks, kitchens, insulation, and heat...for years. We waited. After God directed my heart to start painting, my first fundraiser netted a few hundred dollars. I would cry every time someone bought something from me that cost $20. I cried the first time I saw running water in my new sink. Cried, people. Don't think I don't pray for wells to be dug throughout the world every time I turn on the faucet. 

Now, this past year has been a blur. Blllluuuuuuurrrr. I never really stopped and looked at all that happened. Something struck me the other day when I noticed God was providing for two things that cost an identical amount of money. Then I realized exactly how much that was. Then I realized how very much more He had given. I am blown away. 

Thanks for seeing us, Jesus. Thanks for shaping our hearts and then funding the Jesus love you put in there. You are more than I could say. You are everything laudable.

I don't share a lot of the stories that go on inside Gomer. It is mostly because the things we deal with are very private and the pain is very deep. God has allowed us into some of the most broken places and I humbled that He would let us. I did want to share about our friend Amber.

Denbigh met Amber in 2003 in Odessa, MO. He was there leading worship. Over the years, a mutual friend kept her up on Denbigh's whereabouts. In 2006, she moved to Texas with her family. Later, her church was looking for a worship leader and contacted Denbigh. He didn't end up taking the position, but it did end up opening a door for their church to come spend a week with us and do some mission work this spring. A few short months later, her husband was diagnosed with liver cancer. He went to be with the Lord in September. She came and spent the afternoon here on the way to pick up his ashes. The most brave and beautiful thing she did was come and sing to kick off our fundraiser just a short time after her husband had passed away. I share this because God brought our hearts together before this all happened. He reunited us all this year. He knew full well what the year would hold. He is sovereign. He has grown our friend Amber into a beautiful woman of faith. 

Come out next year to the fish fry. I'm sure Amber will be back on the ticket. Pray for her and her daughter as they find their new normal. Pray for peace and encouragement. Pray for provision.

Lean in and listen for the stories of the people around you.

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