"Give up the shoes!!!"

We hosted some missionaries from Moldova for hot dogs and fellowship. It was great to catch up with their family and get updated about what God is doing through the Campus Crusade for Christ ministry there. It was encouraging to hear how people are being reached with the hope of the gospel in a place where many are without hope. We saw a very interesting video that shed light on the life there; many children are "orphans" because one or both of their parents leave the country to find work. Their social, economic, and political (though better after communist rule was taken from power) is all pretty bleak. The goal of many people in Moldova is to leave...but not this family. They are nationals with the goal of building up those within Moldova with the joy of Jesus Christ.

This family is one of the missionaries we financially support each month. It has been a HUGE stretch to continue giving since Chris' job in Real Estate is not even bringing home enough to pay our monthly bills. Literally, we are not bringing home enough money to buy food after paying all the regular bills. It has, potentially, been a source of stress, but it has been so great to remember, yet again, who is our Provider.

Towards the end of the evening, I asked if there was any old clothes of Isaac's that I could send back with them for their youngest son, now six months old. We dug through the stash and found things that would work well, especially in their bitter cold winters. As we were looking, the mommy asked if we had any old shoes. As I was searching for shoes, she noticed his crib bedding. She was wondering if I could give up the crib bedding because she said they would never be able to afford it in Moldova. (Please keep in mind the fact that they just purchased their very first dryer for their 6th floor, one bedroom apartment after years of hanging out the laundry to dry...during the rainy season and during the time where the clothes freese into a big blocks...they were so excited and said life is so much easier now).

My first thought was, "Are you kidding?!?! Don't you know I was planning to sell this at a garage sale this summer? Don't you know that I could have gotten at least $75 for all of this (even though I only paid $50 on Craigslist)? You don't even know how great this bedding is...you have no idea what Pottery Barn Kids is!"

To top off that moment, the only little shoes I could find were Isaac's first pair of walking shoes...his very first pair that I was planning to save. Not only that, but we had made a very special splurge on these, paying full price at Nordstrom (and those who know us well know that is not were we shop, and rarely do we ever pay full price for anything).She told me the shoes "would work" for her son, and I immediately swallowed hard. Choke! As I looked down at the shoes in my hands, memories flooded my mind of all those early moments with my precious son with his new little walk, arms up in the air to help him balance. At the same time, I heard God telling me (no, not audibly), "Amber, give her the shoes. She needs them. They blessed your family for a time. They are now going to bless theirs. You have the memories; you don't need the shoes. Give up the shoes!!!"

I am telling you, there is true joy in trusting God and doing what He says. The very next moment, as we continued to dig trough piles, I noticed a huge bag of boy clothes that had been passed to me by another mommy. They will fit Isaac in a year or so and will save our family at least $100. I had TOTALLY forgotten they were under there! I would have not have seen them if I hadn't been searching for things to give away. I almost laughed out loud at myself for my shortsightedness. That is how God works! It was especially awesome to see how, when the body of Christ (the people who love Him and live it out) functions as He instructs, He meets our needs. In a year, Isaac will be playing at school wearing clothes our friend's sons once wore, and a little boy with be walking around Moldova in shoes that once wobbled throughout the Pacific NW. That's really cool!