Pay it Forward

Enjoyable week end. A friend from Colorado brought us a trailer load of trees, and bushes this past week. About 50 currant bushes, dozen or so wild rose bushes, raspberry, snowberry, and juniper trees, 7 quaking aspen trees. The nursery deemed them unsellable, and were going to throw them away. Our friend adopted them, and nursed them back to health. So we are in a planting mode here foe a few days. Will be nice when all are planted. Will be a forest actually. The aspen will be colorful in the fall. Takes a little TLC in this warmer climate, but will do ok. They need a "mountain shower" every day. The like getting their bark wet.
Went to McCook NE yesterday. Kids had a birthday dinner for their Mom. She keeps telling me she is only in her 40's, but that is what she told me when we were married 17 years ago.
One daughter is having some marital problems. They are working it out, we hope. We have always worried about her spiritually. She did not seem to want to talk about it. After her problems started, and she was having a particularly bad night. Couldn't sleep. Uncertainty about the future, finances,etc. About 2 or 3 o'clock in the morning she just started praying. All of a sudden she said a warmness came over her and everything seemed different. She was able to go right to sleep and slept well for the remainder of the night. The next day she was invited to a Bible study by a neighbor, and has been to church each Sunday since. She says that the bad times are not as bad with Him leading the way, and is leading the way for both of them. We have wanted this for her for a long time, and are so happy for her. She now wants to sit down with us to share some time with the Lord. We have wanted to do this also for a long time, it wouldn't work until the time is right.
It's too bad that sometimes things have to hit rock bottom before feeling the need for Him. It was kind of that way for us. We had been doing some bible studying with friends, but had not really made a commitment to Him. Then I lost my job, and things were just not good. No idea how we were going to pay our bills. Then we got a call from a person that we hadn't seen or heard from in 2 or 3 years. He just felt the need to call. Carol told him about my losing the job, and how tight things were. He told her he would say a prayer in church next time. A week or so later we received a manilla envelope with a return address from someone we didn't recognize. There was a letter explaining that a prayer had been said for us in church. She had been down and out at one time and had been helped by someone. She wanted us to accept the gift in the envelope as a gift. Kind of a pay it forward situation. We opened the other envelope to find ten-100 dollar bills. we were able to finish paying our bills for the month. We just sat in the middle of the living room floor and cried and then prayed. And have not stopped praying. God has been part of our life since that day. Also paying it forward has been a high point in our lives. We have helped when we didn't really have any thing to help with. But the gratification that we feel when helping someone in need is overwhelming. It is not a pride thing. I don't play the "look what I did" game. It is not a pride thing. The last time I bragged about how good a job I did in raising the garden that we had, it go hailed into the ground that night. We feel that this is what He wants us to do. We don't have a lot and don't require a lot. We live off the land as much as possible. Live the Simple Life. Our possessions are not really ours. They are just borrowed from Him. That should be a song. Oh it is a song!
In the times that I am afraid we are heading into, we need to help each other. If everyone will prep for that time, it will be easier. But there will be those who will want everyone else to do it and they will reap the benefits. It will happen.
I have kind of rambled on and on this morning. Hadn't planned on this lines of thoughts, but must have been the right time for it.--johnnyb