Friday, September 17, 2010

God's Unconventional Solution

     I sat in the amphitheater watching the ceremony.My two young sons stood proudly around the tribal campfire waiting their turn to be tapped into one of scouting's most honorable groups: The Order of the Arrow.  Their uniforms were neat and looked store-bought new.  I knew better.
     Just weeks earlier, we had taken stock of their scout uniforms in preparation for their stay at Camp Old Indian.  To my dismay, nothing fit. In other families with two sons, there may have been hand-me-downs, but with twins, there are rarely hand-me-downs; these two boys were no exception.  Everything they tried on was either too tight or too short, with the exception of one uniform which they wore every week.  Two uniforms wouldln't be nearly enough.  Between the two of them, they needed at least six or eight.
     I saw absolutely no way to buy those other uniforms.  The farm we had bought years before was fast slipping from under our control.  Years of drought and high interest rates had taken their toll. There just wasn't enough money to go around - certainly not enough to buy new scout uniforms.
     So I began to pray, "Lord, I really need those uniforms.  This is to be a special time for our boys. Help me to get the money for the uniforms somehow." I didn't say anything to anyone - not even my family.  I knew that Don would have sold a cow to get the money if I had told him about it.  I just told the boys to get everything else packed and ready to go- and I prayed.  I looked for extra ways to earn money- and I prayed.  Nothing seemed to be working.
     The weeks passed, and it was three days before the troop was to leave to go to camp.  Still no uniforms. The telephone rang on the morning of the third day, and another scouting mother was on the line.
     "Opal," she said, "I've just been getting Mark's clothes ready for camp.  He has outgrown everything, and I had to go buy him more.  I think the old ones will just about fit your boys.  If you want them, I'll send them to the scout meeting tonight."
     I had prayed for money, and got uniforms without even going shopping! They were clean, pressed, and ready to go! I found it hard to believe that my prayers had been answered by a lady I hardly knew.  But that's the way we are.  We pray for something and then we're surprised when our prayers are answered. I opened the box of clothes that night and found uniforms practically new - not six or eight, but twelve.  They were leftovers from Mark and his older brother, and they just fit our boys.  Some of the uniforms had been stored for several years, and "by chance", that scouting mother I hardly knew had decided to clean out closets--"by chance" for her; God's plan for me!  God's resources are unlimited; ours are finite. Our solutions are orthodox; God's solutions are unconventional.
     Since that day, there have been many times when God revealed to me his ability to supply our needs.  There has never been a time when an answer to prayer was more obvious.

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