Our family has gone through the wringer lately with illness in this household. After 2 weeks of tending to sick kids and repeated doctor's appointments, I guess it was somewhat inevitable that Mom and Dad would catch the bug.

This winter has been unusually wet and warm compared to previous years. We have an outdoor wood furnace that we source wood for from our woods and supplement from a semi-local wood place that sells scrap lumber.  Usually, we can start getting wood from the time the crops are harvested (there is a field between our house and the woods) and all through the winter. It's our "family thing" to do on the weekends.

But not this year.  We have places to get the wood, but are not able to get TO the wood to get it to the house. One week of our farm truck taking a "vacation" in the woods was enough, thank you very much.  It's just been too wet. And our semi-local scrap wood place? They're having the same problem.  I'm glad the Lord gave us the foresight to order an extra load or two late this last summer, because it's held us up to this point.

On to my point.

The Lord has been working on me on some issues.  Part of me wants us to be self-sufficient (insert a Tim the Tool-Man Taylor "arr-arr-arr") and able to take care of ourselves no matter what happens and Have Everything Under Control.

If you've not figured it out yet, being sick enough that you feel like someone beat you to a pulp (I think "death warmed over" was the description hubby gave...along with "Horrid") makes one very Not In Control.

Hubby and I were talking last night, trying to decide what to do.  What can we do??? We need wood.  What can We do???

Guess what? The Lord of all, the owner of everything we know on this earth, had it all under control. Not that I ever doubted that, or maybe I did and do and that's why I worry about things sometimes...

This morning, our neighbor called to tell us he was cleaning up near a creek and had some wood if we wanted it. I told him that we would love to have it, but that my hubby couldn't come out to help unload and why.  He was fine with that and brought 2 (!) loads of wood over for us. He had his strapping young boys there to help him unload. I went out to thank him and told him that he was an answer to prayer.

It was a very humbling experience, getting to the point that we probably would have ended the week with no wood for the furnace (we do have propane as backup, but it's quite spendy--hence the wood furnace. Not to mention it just doesn't heat as well.). BUT, it was also a very comforting experience, knowing that our God knew of our problem far in advance and moved within our neighbors to gift us with the wood.  An act of God for sure, gracious, because this was something we could not do ourselves.


This provision brought my mind to how God offers us the gift of salvation through Christ.  There is nothing we can do in and of ourselves to have eternal life, except to realize we are sinners, believe that Jesus died on the cross to pay for our sin and rose alive and victorious over sin and death three days later.  The blood He shed on that cross is what cleanses us from every single sin we ever did, do, and will do in the future. He died to pay for the sins of the whole world.  We each have but to turn away (repent) from that sin and turn to Christ.  He offers the gift to us. It's up to us to receive it.And it's only through Him that we might be saved.

Philippians 4:19

   But my God shall supply all your need according to his riches in glory by Christ Jesus.

This means our spiritual need for a Savior......and our earthly physical needs on this earth---yes, even firewood!