Gospel truth for when you’re pinching pennies and waiting on a paycheck.
For the ones who are tight on time, money, work, and all that jazz.
God sees every sacrifice, every swipe of the card.
— Rachel Marie Kang —
Dear hearts,
Today, I’m sharing an article—very near to my heart—that is live, today, on (in)courage by DaySpring. The below is an excerpt from this article.
To read in full, visit (in)courage.
It was the last of my money. Coins, might I add.
I was six months pregnant and working in a bakery. One of the best dessert bakeries in Charlotte, North Carolina. I took custom cake and cookie orders. I slugged twenty-five-pound bags of granulated sugar over my shoulders and carried them from the basement to the kitchen. I stocked the bakery display with sprinkled sugar cookies, apple fritters, cream horns, guava pastelitos, and six-inch cakes with diplomat cream and strawberry filling.
Have I tickled your taste buds, yet?
At the end of each shift, I’d count my tip money and stuff it away. In time, these collected quarters and stray pennies would end up supplementing my grocery bill. Not many people knew, but I was on Medicaid at the time. Being a newlywed and in ministry with no money for insurance will do that to you.
I’ll never forget that October, our third of the ten years we lived in Charlotte. It was my husband’s birthday and I wanted to celebrate how far he (and I) had come. It’d been a long few years of starting a new life in a new city and I wanted to mark the moment. We had friendships that were flourishing and a baby on the way. Despite all that was hard and heavy, there was much to give thanks for . . . and much to celebrate.
I remember dipping into my stash of tip money and using every last penny to buy food for the party I’d been planning for weeks. I’d stretched seventy-something dollars to buy custom birthday cookies (discounted from the bakery I worked at) and finger foods to feed about ten people.
But then the unimaginable happened: no one showed up . . .
Continue reading at (in)courage.
All,
Rachel
Music to meditate.
I’m at the gas station right now, yes, right now, filling up my tank, $25 regular, please. And I’m listening to “All I Need” by Joy Williams, and I am thinking of all of you and each of you, and I am hoping that this song holds and grounds you, not only through the weekend but as you wade through all your wanting and needing.
Heart, don’t be scared now / Heart, don’t be afraid / I know you’re weary, I feel the aching / Heaven send your help and gather ‘round me / Come quick and gather 'round me / Come quick and gather 'round meAll I need / All I need / All I need / All I need / I may not have everything I want / But I got all I need
Curiosity to contemplate.
Listen to the audio recording of my (in)courage article, “Gospel Truth for When You’re Pinching Pennies and Waiting on a Paycheck”
Prompt to ponder.
Inviting you to ponder the same prompt from my article. Meet me in the comments here, or on at my article on (in)courage.
PROMPT
I’d love to hold space for any pressing financial or work situations you’re currently facing. Comment below and share a little bit about what you’re going through — I’d love to encourage you.
Notes:
No big (or little) notes this week—Happy Fall!
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This resonated with me so, so much thank you. Your honesty and relatability is always so beautiful. I wanted to show up and eat those cookies and celebrate that birthday moment with you. Money is often super tight for our family and we do the best we can on our rollercoaster of an often thin ministry salary. I remember once going all out making homemade lasagna for some expat friends inviting them over to our 200 square foot home where we don't even have space for a table and proper chairs. Later my friend commented that coming over for dinner was humbling. I thought, "ok I didn't want it to be humbling I wanted it to be joyful." But, I'm sure it was humbling in someways. We live pretty simply. As we are traveling the US at the moment (we drove through Charlotte yesterday) we have been in so many beautiful homes and sometimes my heart wants that too, but I also see how God shows up so much for our family even in the simple and the humble.