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Matthew 15:26-27 – He replied, "It is not right to take the children's bread and toss it to their dogs." "Yes, Lord," she said, "but even the dogs eat the crumbs that fall from their masters' table." (NIV)
My little terrier mix dog, Chewy, is a bottomless pit. He hops up and down excitedly as I place his bowl on the feeding mat. His grub vanishes in milliseconds before I've eaten a few bites of my own dinner. Then, he's at my feet anticipating a crumb to fall to the floor. After dinner, while I'm watching the evening news, he wants to cuddle. He sits at my feet with a big doggy smile on his small face. When I pat the seat next to me, he's up in a flash, placing his paw on my leg, adoration shining from his dark eyes.
In the same way that Chewy looks to me for a hug, or comfort, or a meal, we ought to look to our Saviour Jesus Christ when it comes to trusting where our next meal will come from. For some, that's an ongoing concern. I know that it was for us when my children were young.
I can remember when we had more month than money. While my husband worked two and sometimes three jobs, the children changed to play clothes after school and helped in the garden with weeding and picking, and in the kitchen with canning the vegetables.
When I pulled fresh-baked loaves of bread from the hot oven and placed them on the back porch to cool, the girls covered them with a crisp, clean dish cloth. But what the children loved best was rolling the leftover bread dough into balls that I fried in oil, drained on paper towels, and rolled in sugar to make doughnut holes. Of course, while they were still warm, most of them disappeared into young mouths, along with a glass of milk from the neighbour's cow.
When a generous neighbour's husband bought her a new freezer, she gave us her still-working old one. Thank God, that freezer chugged away for many years filled with beef, chicken, and cuts of pork that other wonderful neighbours provided at reasonable cost.
During those years, God blessed us with an abundant garden and the ability to can quarts of vegetables. At the time, I didn't fully understand that all this was God's way of caring for us. All I knew was that we worked hard and had wonderful neighbours. Although it was often difficult to squeeze the mortgage out of my husband's paycheques, it usually got paid within the grace period. Admittedly, many days were spent in prayer asking God for help.
So, what's the point in telling you all this? Simply this: God answers our prayers right on time to meet our need. Sometimes, it's with an unexpected miracle, like the much-needed gift of a freezer. Other times, it's with an abundant garden. Still other times, it's with the ability to take what is on hand to make something delightful, like sugary doughnuts. Whatever happens, it is often God's way of answering our prayer — sometimes through the thoughtful, kind actions of others. All the ways that God blessed us still stagger my imagination.
Let us be sure to thank God for His timely answers and provision.
Prayer: Thank You, Lord God, for all the many ways that You've provided for us when we were clueless that the wonderful things that came our way were You answering our needs. Thank You again, for we pray in Jesus' name. Amen.
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Thanks Cass, good one.
I have a similar testimony. Awesome, isn’t it?
Good memories, Cass, and a great challenge.
Thanks, Cassandra, for this reminder to be grateful for God’s provision.
Cassandra, what a wonderful message that we all need to be reminded of at times in our lives. thank you for sharing your journey. Blessings.
Thanks for the lovely devotion today. Your story showing how God is always taking care of us and our needs. I never cease to be amazed that He cares about every detail of our lives! Blessings.
Thank you, Cassandra, for telling of all the ways God was with you in your young years.
Yours were much like mine, though mine were on a farm in southern Canada, maybe 25 miles up from the USA boundary.
Cass, your devotional ‘Shouted’ with contagious Praises of Gratefulness and Thanksgiving to Almighty God, and now I’m Shouting too!
Thank you! Amen and Hallelujah!!!
Thank you, Cassandra, for this lovely devotional. Yes, the Lord does supply all our needs when we ask believing He knows best.
Blessings to you and yours!
(Ontario, Canada)
Hello Cassandra,
Thank you for writing. How thankful we must always be for the love and care we receive from our Lord for answering our prayers in His way and in His timing.
Blessings to you.
(B.C.)
Hello Cassandra
Thank you for your devotional. I enjoyed reading it and I too had a mom who made homemade bread and the smell and the taste. mmmm!
Yes, and I agree with what you said about Jesus too. We are blessed beyond measure.
God bless.
Thank you for your devotion today. My, it seems as young families we all did struggle to make ends meet. The continual need of making and cleaning up meals, laundry. Now as a senior, Grandma, how did we get it all done? Your devotion helped me remember, “how did we ever have enough money to put gas in the car to go to visit our parents?” Somehow, always God provided, always. The freezer you mentioned, precious wasn’t it? Gardening, canning. Thank you for reminding me, God was faithful then and He is today.
Let us, as the older Jesus followers, be an example to the younger women. God bless you as you blessed me.
Today’s devotional reminds me of when I was a kid on the farm, we had 2 1/2 miles to walk to school and school went from 9-4 in those days my mother would make bread (often we had hired hands) she would make 9 loaves of bread. When we got home from school our supper would not be until after six but there was one loaf of bread and fresh homemade butter well, there were 4 of us we would take the bread knife our mother had left for us we would cut all the crusts off and put fresh butter on it how delicious. I do not remember what my mother did with the naked loaf with no crusts left. My husband now makes bread and it brings back those memories, we never still do not eat warm bread but cold, yum yum. Thank you for bringing back the memories.
(ON)
Hi Cassandra,
This is such a lovely testimony of God’s goodness and wonderful provision with His perfect timing! It has made me reflect on the many ways God provides for my husband and l and is working in the background to make things beautiful and we don’t even know it!
Blessings.
How lovely your writing is to me as you look back on how its been with your life in God. His care continues for us both and for your children today.
Hi Cassandra,
Thank you for this devotional. It was a good lesson in realizing that God is with us in all we do.
Thank you for writing.