He Notices.

My friends have a joke that when my stories bomb (which happens to That Girl a lot), I will wrap them up with

"...And then I found five dollars!"


Today that happened. Well, sort of.


Last week, God asked me to do something.

[I tell you this not so that you will think that I am really great, because it's not a story about me. It's about the amazing provision of the Father.]

It was more of a matter of submission than anything, and I am trying to develop a good attitude about not just offering Him my time, my energy, and my love. He also wants to know that He is Lord of my pocketbook. With the No Other Gods study we have been doing, money frequently comes up.

A common myth, especially for the likes of poor, quarter-counting college kids like the one I teach, is that "I will be more generous when I have more money to give." If you can't be generous when you have a little, what makes you think you can be when you have a lot? After all, it's the attitude of the heart. God loves people who give cheerfully, not out of their surplus but rather out of their first fruits. God convicted me about this a few months ago over a conversation I had with someone. I had said that I desired "when I got settled" both in life and in finances, I wanted to figure out a way to tithe first to the church and then to put aside an additional amount to save back. The extra money over the tithe could be used to donate to mission trips, or to help out those in need in the local community, or to bless someone anonymously.

No sooner did I speak that out did God chastise me (He disciplines those He loves). He said, "Are you not settled enough in ME to be able to do that now?"


(That Girl winces)


After that, I started to pray that money would never serve as a functional god to me, and that I would never withhold what was His in the first place. Since then, He has asked me several times to trust Him with which He blesses me.

This week was no exception. I heard His voice, did what He told me to do, and didn't look back. He notices. Even when we try to do things so no one else does. He does. He sees all. He knows all.


"Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you."


Fast forward to today. I came into the office after lunch, and Candace handed me an envelope with my name on it. I opened it up and there was a small index card with a note:

"Lauren,
Thanks so much for all that you do and have done for me.
Love ya and God Bless."

It wasn't signed, but there was a $20 in it.

Praise The Lord!

"And then I found twenty dollars. No, really. I DID!"



He notices.