Blessings

Like most of my spiritual habits, tithing is something I have a testimony of and has always been a top priority for me. Unfortunately since moving into our place which doubled our rent, it hasn't been as easy to pay tithing. We would put it off because bills tend to collect interest or have dire consequences when gone unpaid. As things money got tighter, I realized we needed to pay tithing in order to have things work out. When we were newly married and money was scarce, sometimes it was even scarcer than other times but we always paid our tithing. In just about every instance where we were down to our last dollars, we would discover a paycheck that had been tucked away somewhere and needed deposited.

So after this summer when money was getting tight again due to poor money management, Matthew and I talked about making tithing a higher priority. I am the one who generally pays the bills and at the beginning of December I paid tithing despite what the bank account looked like. In fact, the amount of tithing we had to pay was the same amount that Matthew's school tuition was. I realized it would be better to pay tithing and let the credit card gain interest because we needed the blessings. And the blessings came. Within days of writing the check (and I hadn't even turned it in yet) Matthew got word that the Army was offering re-enlistment bonuses again and he was eligible in January. The amount of the bonus is enough to replenish our savings that will be completed depleted when we pay Feb's rent. Not only the news came of the bonus, but Matthew got a call from his mom about money that his grandmother had invested for each of her children and grandchildren. Next time his mom comes to visit, she will bring it. Is it in our hands? No. But it is money coming our way that we had no way of knowing would come.

Tithing settlement was looming for us the last Sunday of December and neither of us felt that we were full tithe payers until we paid the remaining tithing due for the month of December. There was enough money to pay tithing but not the bills that would be due at the beginning of the month. Basically paying that tithing was our widow's mite. I wasn't sure how it would all work out with the bills. Thanks to our savings account we were able to pay rent and our credit card that carries some of our bills. Matthew gets paid on the 10th for his pest control job and I am never sure when a check will come through for his Army work. We had a bill for student loans we have set to pay yesterday but I forgot to do it so I logged on this morning to check what our situation was to pay it. Lo and behold, money had come through from the Army. I was able to pay that bill, but another bill is set for the 9th. I logged into that account to figure out if we'd have enough left after the student loan was paid. Normally our auto and property insurance runs about $150 a month. It was $55 and not due until the 13th!!! (well after the pest control pays us). It will all work out! I know this is because we paid our tithing. We offered our faith and trust and the Lord has blessed us. I am so grateful and humbled by His constant love and mercy, especially when I am weak.