October 2013…What a month! In one week in October 2013 we, as a family, received bad news on two fronts. First of all…we received the result of a biopsy of the mass on one of my ribs and it was determined to be malignant. When cancer comes back it changes categories…it goes from…I think we beat this thing (we dodged the bullet) to…STAGE 4! (If you have been reading my postings then you were already aware of this fact. What I haven’t shared is in the same week our general contractor shared some pretty interesting news.) Secondly…while two months prior our contractor had bid $X for the renovation of our home and had communicated, on numerous occasions, we were “in budget” we were met with some pretty startling news. Over coffee, the same week we received the cancer news, Tracey and I reviewed the progress we were making on our renovation only to discover our budget had ballooned to $3X. Yes…more than 3 times what we had agreed to. The fact is…I panicked. Now I remained calm on the outside and was kind, etc. however internally I was wrestling with numerous questions and I wanted to scream. As a point of reference…Tracey and I have never allowed our MasterCard bill to go a month without being paid…we are that financially conservative! Our investments are tax deferred in IRAs and are not liquid without having to pay a significant penalty. To be completely candid…the money wasn’t available and the bank wouldn’t touch us because the project had already begun. Lord…what are we going to do? As I lay awake at 3:30am in our 400 square foot converted garage I remember thinking… - How would we complete our project? - Where would we find capital? - How did we get into this predicament? - What was our contractor thinking? - I should have seen this coming? - I am so stupid to be in this situation…how could I? - Argh!?!?! The fact the cancer had come back wasn’t a worry…it never has been. For some reason I have been granted peace in this regard but in the financial realm…I was afraid. That is when a friend and his family entered the picture. A friend I had worked with for 15 years, traveled the globe with, invested my life in ministry with…a real friend…a brother. This friend called and shared; “I heard your contractor moved the goal posts on you.” He encouraged me by sharing that over the past 15 years he had watched from afar as Tracey and I located homes with good bones and lead renovation projects, each one producing a beautiful home and building significant equity. He then said, “Greg…we heard the cancer is back and my family and I are praying for you. We don’t want you worrying about this financial hiccup…we would prefer you focus on your family, your health, beating this recurrence, etc.” “How much do you need?” See…while I was fretting, worrying, beating myself up God was working in the hearts of a friend and his family to provide a bridge loan until permanent financing could be secured. They were able, they said yes to God’s prompting and God met our need. A friend loves at all times, and a brother is born for a time of adversity. Solomon in Proverbs 17:17 This is how God moves on the earth today. It is interesting what Jesus shared with his disciples… Very truly I tell you, whoever believes in me will do the works I have been doing, and they will do even greater things than these… Jesus in John 14:12 Greater things? How is this possible? How can we do greater things than Jesus? Interesting…if each of us, who call ourselves “Christians” or frankly a better description, in my opinion, is “followers of Jesus” said yes when we were prompted to… - Assist with the financial needs of a friend. - Pray with a stranger. - Feed the hungry. - Clothe the homeless. - Adopt the child. - Forgive the spouse. - Sell our excess stuff and give the proceeds to those in need. - Mow the neighbors yard. - Etc. It would be massive. We would be the hands and feet of Jesus and the world would understand and experience God’s love in ways they would have never imagined. Millions of people acting like Jesus would be monumental. Not judging, not condemning but loving and serving. See…that’s how we do “greater things than these.” Each of us does OUR part, we all play OUR role and the growth of the church and the explosion of those who believe would be…exponential. OK…sorry for preaching but I’M IN! Will you join me? The fact is…when we give we receive (it’s biblical)…when we say yes we get to experience life as it was intended. “...I came that they may have life, and have it abundantly.” Jesus in John 10:10 This is not a zero sum game…we are all blessed. Yes…I am a blessed man. I have friends. I have brothers who have and continue to shoulder the load with my family and me in numerous ways…prayer, bridge loans, meals, unpacking boxes, coming to see me from around the globe, etc. Be a friend…be a sister…be a brother…BE BLESSED! Amen!
Posted on: Sun, 27 Jul 2014 22:59:53 +0000
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