Relief

Estimated reading time: 3 minute(s)

The past week saw a bit of relief for us on the income freeze. I think I have mentioned here that the summer was quite a financial drought. Not many (maybe there weren’t any?) of my current clients needed any substantial work done on their existing sites, and not much new business came in. We haven’t been getting much if any income from my various income streams. (Web design, music, Mac sales… even the Buffalo Bills podcast or various publishing endeavors.) It’s not only been frustrating… has been quite a weight to bear, with unpaid Bills mounting.

But the last week or so has changed that a good bit. Four new clients/jobs. (One paid their deposit, another paid today, and the other is about 80% committed to the new project.) I got a payment from Apple, and a payment from a gig earlier this summer. I even got a royalty check from CCLI, who pays artists when churches report having used their material. Not much, but it was a nice gesture. 🙂

But it all was kicked off by the insane generosity of some friends of ours. Not only did they drive a long way to treat us to lunch – and a good one at that! – they also offered to help us catch up on some of our bills! What??!? I just didn’t even know what to say! It almost seemed unfair to them. Why should they bear our financial burden? But even in my own words I understood that I must accept. “Bear each other’s burdens,” it says. And Acts talks about a church where “no one was in need” because they all took care of each other.

Quite humbled (often we have been the ones on the giving end of this deal) and just floored at the offer, I accepted, and they wrote us a very generous check. We were able to pay a past due debt that was definitely hanging heavily over my head. What an incredible gift.

Add to that generous gifts and help from family, and some other friends who a few weeks earlier had done a very similar thing!! Holy cow. God is not taking care of us through my talents, abilities, skills, or hard work… he’s taking care of us through the relationships he has given us.

That is terribly humbling. In a good “terrible” way. I am so amazingly thankful, and glad to see God is also giving to those who are giving to us. You can tell (and I know from experience) that the giving of this financial help is just as cool (or more) as the receiving is for us. Incredible.

Thank you, friends. Thank you, family. Thanks for loving us, and for letting God provide through you. I hope I get to return the favor – not to feel like I have earned your gift, at least I hope not. But instead, to be able to love you as you have loved us… with lavish generosity. And maybe not you… but someone else God connects us with. There will always be needs. That is for sure.

So, thanks to God for the new work to do, for the future work that seems to be lining up, and mostly for reminding me again of what really matters in life – the people he has surrounded us with.