Twenty Minutes of Grace...

Sunday was a life-altering day for our family.

It was my second service back at church since my baby girl got so sick. I was so thankful to be able to attend the service again and worship God with my church family! Nothing could have prepared my heart for what happened though.

Pastor was teaching on faith. Specifically, if you say you have faith, put feet to it and do something! He was also teaching on being confident that God will do what He has said He will do in His Word. Every time. Without fail. I can't speak for my husband, but I started to rethink what I thought about Who He is and what He says He will do. Of course, the ER bills were on my mind too. But I knew some how He would meet that need.

Then Pastor started talking about a couple in the church (he didn't name names at this point) who had gone through some really rough times financially. He said that God told him to give to them and he held up a check, then he called up his wife and she also had money in her hand. In the next minute to my utter shock and disbelief he said "Mr and Mrs. Q will you please come up here?"

WHAT???? Did he really just say our names?!?!

But oh yes, the Pastors did call us up front. As my feet propel me forward, I am thinking "Praise God, that money will go to pay for some of the medical bills! Thank You Lord You are so faithful!"

Here is where it gets really good...

Then the Pastors invited others to add to that amount to pay for the hospital bills. (We don't have insurance because we cannot afford it on one income.)

At that point I honestly don't remember much of what was happening. I was too overwhelmed to process what was going on. I just stood there next to my Pastors crying my eyes out!

In absolute amazement I watched as a huge, long line (made up of every single one of those people in the sanctuary) began to form and stretch around the perimeter of the sanctuary! People dropped money and checks into an offering bucket FOR US. In gratitude all I could do was hug each one and cry. My husband stood there holding the bucket in shock!

People we didn't even know came forward to give.

It took twenty minutes for people to finish giving to us. In twenty minutes God met above and beyond the need. In twenty minutes we were shown just how much He cares and how much our church family loves us. In twenty minutes we were so humbled and in awe of the overflowing generosity and outpouring of love.

Every person who stood in that line was smiling. No one looked on us with pity. Oh no, it was compassion I saw in their eyes. The same compassion I imagine that those who were touched by Jesus saw when He looked at them.

We love you. It was echoed with every hug, every dollar that was placed in that bucket.

We have never been that profoundly touched. We were impacted for life by twenty minutes of His lavish blessing. Twenty minutes of His miraculous provision. Twenty minutes of being drenched in His love. Twenty minutes of tangible, irrefutable, undeniable grace.

"Let us therefore come boldly to the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need."
Hebrews 4:16

Oh, and the result? All the ER bills, as well as labs and physicians, were paid in full with some left over! Is He not amazing?

God's boundless grace and lavish love, it works for me!