I tell you this story now, because it directly relates to the current situation we’re in and to be honest, it’s a bit of a reminder for me.

When we were in Chiang Rai, Thailand we had four days before our plans again ran out. Roughly the same amount of days we also had left on our Thai visas. We decided to make our way to Vietnam so we bought flights and found accommodation quickly. This left us with $900 in the bank account! Now that might sound like a lot and to me it is, but $900 was only enough money to get one of us back to Australia and nothing more. We knew we had some money coming in from tax returns and an insurance medical bill but we didn’t know when.

I remember we were not stressed out. Sure we had moments when those little doubts started to come in, but I guess in the end we knew God (and our families) wouldn’t leave us high and dry. We almost laughed with anticipation about what God was going to do.

Within the first two days of arriving in Vietnam we ended up with $14K in the bank account. That’s right $14,000. We got insurance claims, tax returns, child government payments, a large sum from a family member and the few friends supporting us all sent funds without knowing our situation. We were totally blown away! From $900 to $14K… crazy stuff! We were amazed and in awe of God’s extravagant provision and knew that there was a reason.

This leads us to today, right at this moment as I sit at my kitchen bench typing these words. We ended up putting most of the money into our bills account to cover the loan and other monthly bills. Now that we are home and both unemployed, that money is what we are living off and the reason we could restock our pantry when we moved back into our house. It gives us a grace period while we pray the right jobs come along.

I must confess, I am finding it harder to not freak out now that we’re in Australia. I think it’s because when you’re overseas, you have nothing but God to back you up, but when you’re in your own culture, you have skills and experience that you can and should use. For some reason, I feel more responsible and like God will leave me on my own. I believe in using what you’ve been given and not just waiting for things to fall from the sky. As always it’s another lesson in trust and faith for me. I’m sure that many of you will be nodding your heads and thinking “Haha, been there”, so you understand what it’s like.

I have seen God do amazing things, not just in our seven months overseas, but throughout my whole life. I need to remember all of that when those feelings of fear begin to creep in. Seriously, $900 to $14,000 in two days.

Love Jess xxoo