The Two Dollar Blessing
Usually, when something like this happens, the first person I call is my mom. I love informing her of small things that God does, reminding me just how much in charge He is. I know that one day, we won't be able to exchange such experiences, so I'm informing her as much as possible. Anyway, here's my encounter with what I call "The Two Dollar Blessing". It may not be a huge deal to most, but I love it when God makes things personal (out of billions of other souls).
So every since I graduated, my money has been extremely tight. I checked my bank account and all I had was about $16 to my name. I had just enough gas in my car to drive to Augusta from Thomson (which takes about half of a quarter of a tank). I needed to put $10 in my tank in order to not only get back home, but go to work the next day. I was invited over to my best friends' house for a cookout, which required me buying two bags of chips. I had $8 in cash in my wallet and just over a $1 worth of change in my pocket. The plan, while driving to Augusta, was to spend $10 on gas and deposit the $8 into my account to cover what I've spent (are you keeping up so far? Good :) I pump gas after arriving at my destination and quickly head to the bank to deposit the $8. The funny thing is that the ATM only took $6, spitting back out two dollar bills. I inserted the dollar bills again, straightening them out and unfolding the corners before hand. Still, the machine didn't take them. I then placed the dollar bills into my wallet and drove off, heading towards Target to purchase the chips. I arrive at the store, heading towards the grocery section. I remember finding a coupon on Target's shopping app called Cartwheel (5% off Archer Farms Potato Chips). I'm also keeping in mind that I have a Target debit card as well as a Target Team Member discount. Walking into the store, I have the pre-mindset that I do not want to use my debit card, fearing that it would be deducted from my account with a low balance. I get to the cashier, developing small talk with a coworker, and show her the Cartwheel bar-code as well as my discount card. Keep in mind, I have $2 in my wallet as well as a dollar in change, shaking around in my pocket. After grabbing two bags of potato chips, both costing $2.99, the total comes to $2.67. It completely blew my mind. I took the $2 from my wallet and three quarters from my pocket and paid for the chips. I didn't even have to reach for my debit card.
God worked this out in a span of twenty minutes. He specifically disallowed the ATM machine to take the $2 so that I could use them and the change in my pocket to buy the chips. Thanks to His work, I had gas to put in my car, a few dollars in my account, and I was able to buy not one, but two bags of chips so that everyone could partake.
Have you ever experienced going somewhere, reaching for your wallet or purse after someone has given you the total and someone else stops you by saying "I got you." That's what God does. He does it exactly when the time is best. The cliche isn't far from the truth, saying that He's always on time. I can't end this blog without providing scripture to further emphasis my experience. Psalm 86:7 states that in our time of trouble, if we call upon Him, He will answer. It may not be the answer you want, but it will be exactly as it should be. That's when your faith comes into play. His blessings rang in size from extremely trivial to astronomical. The idea of simply knowing that He did it is enough assurance that our God has no boundaries, especially when we place ourselves in them. Acknowledge God in every thing you do and I promise you, He'll appear as present as the pain or worry that you're undergoing. Trust Him. He's a guarantee. He took almost a half hour to help me save money. The least I can do is give Him a few minutes of "us" time. Spending time with God doesn't have to be a specific time of day or amount of minutes. If you can (and I'm speaking to myself), grab His word, pick a chair, preferably somewhere cool, and "talk " to Him. That's basically what He's doing through His word. Why not talk back? Let Him know how you feel. And thank Him. I thank Him for everything--my degree, a place to sleep, my car, and especially for the $2 that was spat out of the ATM machine...TWICE!
So every since I graduated, my money has been extremely tight. I checked my bank account and all I had was about $16 to my name. I had just enough gas in my car to drive to Augusta from Thomson (which takes about half of a quarter of a tank). I needed to put $10 in my tank in order to not only get back home, but go to work the next day. I was invited over to my best friends' house for a cookout, which required me buying two bags of chips. I had $8 in cash in my wallet and just over a $1 worth of change in my pocket. The plan, while driving to Augusta, was to spend $10 on gas and deposit the $8 into my account to cover what I've spent (are you keeping up so far? Good :) I pump gas after arriving at my destination and quickly head to the bank to deposit the $8. The funny thing is that the ATM only took $6, spitting back out two dollar bills. I inserted the dollar bills again, straightening them out and unfolding the corners before hand. Still, the machine didn't take them. I then placed the dollar bills into my wallet and drove off, heading towards Target to purchase the chips. I arrive at the store, heading towards the grocery section. I remember finding a coupon on Target's shopping app called Cartwheel (5% off Archer Farms Potato Chips). I'm also keeping in mind that I have a Target debit card as well as a Target Team Member discount. Walking into the store, I have the pre-mindset that I do not want to use my debit card, fearing that it would be deducted from my account with a low balance. I get to the cashier, developing small talk with a coworker, and show her the Cartwheel bar-code as well as my discount card. Keep in mind, I have $2 in my wallet as well as a dollar in change, shaking around in my pocket. After grabbing two bags of potato chips, both costing $2.99, the total comes to $2.67. It completely blew my mind. I took the $2 from my wallet and three quarters from my pocket and paid for the chips. I didn't even have to reach for my debit card.
God worked this out in a span of twenty minutes. He specifically disallowed the ATM machine to take the $2 so that I could use them and the change in my pocket to buy the chips. Thanks to His work, I had gas to put in my car, a few dollars in my account, and I was able to buy not one, but two bags of chips so that everyone could partake.
Have you ever experienced going somewhere, reaching for your wallet or purse after someone has given you the total and someone else stops you by saying "I got you." That's what God does. He does it exactly when the time is best. The cliche isn't far from the truth, saying that He's always on time. I can't end this blog without providing scripture to further emphasis my experience. Psalm 86:7 states that in our time of trouble, if we call upon Him, He will answer. It may not be the answer you want, but it will be exactly as it should be. That's when your faith comes into play. His blessings rang in size from extremely trivial to astronomical. The idea of simply knowing that He did it is enough assurance that our God has no boundaries, especially when we place ourselves in them. Acknowledge God in every thing you do and I promise you, He'll appear as present as the pain or worry that you're undergoing. Trust Him. He's a guarantee. He took almost a half hour to help me save money. The least I can do is give Him a few minutes of "us" time. Spending time with God doesn't have to be a specific time of day or amount of minutes. If you can (and I'm speaking to myself), grab His word, pick a chair, preferably somewhere cool, and "talk " to Him. That's basically what He's doing through His word. Why not talk back? Let Him know how you feel. And thank Him. I thank Him for everything--my degree, a place to sleep, my car, and especially for the $2 that was spat out of the ATM machine...TWICE!
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