This week, God called me to spend money. Zero. Zip.
Initially, I waivered between being excited about this and thinking "what am I going to eat"? I have a little food in the fridge, but I really like produce. And I have exactly one-quarter of a tank of gas in my Grand Prix (the Vue is sitting on E). So, I biked. My friends were downtown hanging out, so I biked down there to see them. Twice. I donated plasma. I did not buy groceries, but used whatever we had in our cabinets, in my stockpile, and our fridge/freezer. I even made money selling treats for my marathon. It was actually kind of nice to clean out the fridge before vacation.
Gas went down, but I did not waiver. I owe an extra $50 for my flight for Haiti and found travel insurance. Not a dime was spent. I sat, and waited on God to meet my needs. It was hard, difficult, and very eye opening.
Ok, so I ended up spending $15 last night. I was hosting a few friends and we ran to my parents' house to get an inflatable bed we didn't use. I didn't want to leave them stranded on the south side with no gas.
This exercise showed me that I spent too much money on things I didn't need and don't trust God enough to meet my needs. And here is the amazing part: I did not starve. I didn't even feel deprived. I felt as if my life was simplified a little. I feel confident going into this vacation that I can spend money without guilt and know that God will provide for my every need, even my very basic, primitive needs. I stand amazed and excited to be overwhelmed by His provisions in the days and weeks to come, because, to be honest, there are so many things coming down the pipeline.
