Reaping sown seed....

It was our entire life savings; monies received at our wedding. We'd managed to hold onto it for nearly two years. The need was urgent. We prayed. We obeyed. This act of giving in obedience, both in times of abundance and times of need, would be repeated throughout our marriage.

We have faced several financial crisis in our nearly nine years of marriage. Times of unemployment, times of foolish decisions, times of living beyond our means, even a time of bankruptcy.

Yet, through it all, we remained faithful in one thing, obedient in tithe and in giving. We sowed good seed. I wish I could say that we were consistently faithful, obedient, stewards with the other 90% Truth be told, bad seed was sown right alongside the good seed.

Through the years, He has remained faithful--abundantly faithful--even during the hard times that we brought upon ourselves. This was not enough to keep me from asking the forbidden question: Why them and not us? Where is our "blessing"? Why are we just getting by? I knew my questions were not justified. Some crops grow faster than others. The return on investment from poor financial decisions is often much quicker than that of good ones.

In this season in our life, we are reaping from the good seed. We have learned from our mistakes, and strive to be good stewards with all He gives us. We are enjoying the blessings.

Today, we were able to meet a need. Honestly, I was reluctant at first, wanting to use that money for my own wants. My husband said, "What good is it to be doing well (financially) if we can't use it to bless others?" He was so right. I repented. We obeyed.

By the evening, God had returned to us what He asked us to give.

"Bring all the tithes into the storehouse so there will be enough food in my Temple. If you do,” says the Lord of Heaven’s Armies, “I will open the windows of heaven for you. I will pour out a blessing so great you won’t have enough room to take it in! Try it! Put me to the test!" Malachi 3:10