Ka-Ching: Spiritual Deposits and Withdrawals

I am supposed to be making phone calls and sending emails about buildings and contracts and doors and architect stuff, but I am anxious and feel inclined first to jot down a couple of thoughts related to the title of this post. Perhaps thinking through them in advance and putting words to them will help when the inevitable time comes for one of those big withdrawals. I have the uncomfortable sense that it is imminent.

A little back story on this project:
In the fall of 2009 I sensed the Lord moving me to start planning a market and cafe. Part bulk and natural foods, part Amish deli, part local goods, produce and art, part laid back Pacific Northwest coffee house with really good, and good for you, stuff to eat, all dropped down into rural SE Indiana. So I spent the next two months intensely researching and accumulating information and I scoured the area for the building. I looked at what was on the market, but there was only one--ever--that was THE ONE. It was the H Auction Building and it was in use.

Nevertheless I called the number on the truck parked outside and inquired. I asked if I was speaking to the owner, and the answer sounded like a yes. I asked if the building might be available for sale or lease and was told no, no interest in that at all. But later that day I had the realization that I had not spoken to the owner, but the tenant. Looking into the county records, I found and called Mr. B. and he was very interested in both possibilities and arranged to show us the building.  Ka-Ching.




It was nightmarish, however. Floor to ceiling with stuff, junk and garbage. It was bad. The tenant was living in part of the office, and well, that's enough description. From then on when we would drive by, G would hold up a hand so I couldn't look at the building and suggest other not-THE-ONE locations. Some weeks later I sensed the Lord say

"Stop for now." So I did, more than slightly confused, but willing. Any time I thought about moving forward I would get the same image of a big metal "wheel boot" clamped on the tire of a car. The message was clear that I would be going nowhere, so I was content to wait for more instruction.


The next year I became ill and stayed that way for 9 months. But when spring came this year, so did the sense that we should look again into the market. Mostly it came from G who quit holding his hand up when we drove by the building and started sending me links to local organic distributors and other items of interest. Then came the day he said, "I think you should plan to open in the fall." So we asked our church family to pray with us for wisdom on something big and we waited. After a month or so we felt compelled again to move forward and I emailed Mr. B. to check on the status of the building--Did he still own it? If so was he still interested in selling, etc? Two days later he responded, surprised, but very glad to hear from us, and informed us in a short reply that the tenant had died unexpectedly 10 days earlier, the man's family would be cleaning out the building, and it would be ready soon, so when did we hope to open and when would we like to meet?  Ka-Ching,  Ka-Ching. It was confirmation enough, and it was also the first of many noteworthy deposits into a spiritual bank account of faith and provision for this task, from which I draw a daily stipend.

I don't think I will never cease to be blessed and stunned by the circumstances surrounding yesterday's post (The Foreknowledge of God in a Box), but even before the day was out my natural bent toward anticipating the worst was beginning to wring its hands about what must be coming down the road. It is the wrong response, I know, and soon I hope to alleviate some of the anxiety with some time of putting those hands up to the Rock that is higher than I.

In the meantime, though, there is a spiritual law at work here. Maybe a better statement would be that in my experience, whether I like it or not, I have found the following to be true:

God does not make big spiritual faith deposits where big spiritual faith withdrawals will not eventually be needed. He needs no fanfare to meet our needs, but we, weak as we are, do seem to need them from time to time to better endure the next set of trials, especially large ones. Perhaps it is that today is dark and rainy or perhaps it is prophetic, or maybe both, but when I see the line-up of amazing deposits in the last couple of months, the weak, fearful, faithless part of my soul starts to tremble...

........................................INTERRUPTION........................................

...Enter the ever-faithful, ever-trustworthy Lover and Keeper of my soul. The One Who will NEVER leave me nor forsake me, the One who knows my every need and sometimes provides immediately.
I am amazed yet again.
After writing those words above "my soul starts to tremble...." the phone rang. A dear friend called whom I have prayed with regularly this month over a big and daunting task in her life and she told me how the Lord is answering in amazing and almost impossible ways. Ka-Ching. Even today He sends encouragement to me when I need it! And this time she prayed for me--another encouragement. We agreed together that leaving everything up to the Lord and carrying as little possible ourselves is the best and most astonishing way to live in light of life's overwhelming and uncontrollable circumstances. Ka-ching. Ka-Ching. Ka-Ching. Ka-ching. Ka-Ching....