In the book of Mark, Jesus often teaches large crowds.  Twice, he and his disciples found themselves far from any village, surrounded by a multitude of hungry people.  Both times, Jesus had the disciples feed the people by multiplying the loaves and fishes so that all had enough, and basketfuls were left over. (Mark 6:32-44; 8:1-10).  It is understandable that the disciples had no idea what to do the first time, but one wonders why they were so perplexed the second time.  Unfortunately, we have seen ourselves act the same way…

 In the fall of 1989, Diane and I had taken steps toward moving to a new house. The catalyst was the closing of the Holmes Street School across the street from our Hazel Street house, requiring first Linnea, and now Jesse, to ride a bus to Mount Hope School on the other side of the Red Cedar River.  By moving closer to Mount Hope School, the kids could walk to the Elementary, and when they moved up to Pattengill Middle School, they could take a bus. The walk to Pattengill from Hazel Street was not a pleasant prospect. 

 I was reluctant to make the move.  Since A K Consulting was still a new company I felt we could make the old house payment but I was worried about a larger one.  Diane was confident.  Her dad, Tom Clark, gave encouragement, “you do good work, you will be able to make money and make the payments.”

 We realize NOW that part of God’s larger purpose was to build our trust in Him.  Events happened quickly as we found a house on Sunnyside.  The day the family explored the new house was magical – it seemed so big; Linnea announced the room above the garage would be hers; we could see opportunities in the back yard and with updates to the house.  We enjoyed meeting the owner, who had just moved to an assisted living facility.  We found out later that a younger childless couple toured the house right after us, and their strategy was to mention all the things they would have to change.  The other couple offered more money, but Mrs. Small chose to sell to us because “the house needed to have children in it” and “that other couple had been mean to me about the state of the house.”

 We put our house for sale and at the first open house received a full price offer.  We contacted a bank and started the financing process.  Things were sailing along.  Then a series of setbacks tested whether we would rely on God or on ourselves.

 First, the buyers of our Hazel Street house had already put down a deposit but were backing out of the purchase.  They said they could not live in that neighborhood.  What would we do? What would we do?  We worried and made phone calls and worried some more.  After a day, we decided to stop and pray together about the problem.  Shortly after we prayed, our realtor called, said she had phoned a couple who left their name at the initial open house.  They had made an offer, for MORE than the original price!  We accepted and thanked God.  In the process, we received part of the deposit from the first couple.  Bonus.

 Second, we soon got a call from the bank.  They were requiring information about Diane’s father’s business that we did not feel we should have to provide.  Without that information, the bank would not provide a mortgage.  So, we worried and made phone calls and worried some more, for about half a day.  Then we decided to stop and pray together about the problem.  Shortly after we prayed, the realtor called and said she had located a different bank who would process the loan quickly. We started the paperwork and thanked the Lord.  In switching banks, we received a lower interest rate!  Bonus.

 Third, word of these first two incidents reached Mrs. Small’s son. He had not been happy that his mother sold the house for less than she could have gotten. The fact that we were having trouble frustrated him because he imagined we would not be able to close on time.  We heard that he was threatening to renege on the offer and sell to someone else.  So we worried and made phone calls and worried some more, for about an hour. Then we decided to stop and pray together about the problem. Immediately, the realtor called, who had spoken to Mr. Small and explained the situation.  Once he understood that everything was moving in the right direction, he was satisfied.  We were relieved and thanked God.

 Those three incidents always remind us of the advantages of turning immediately to God for help.  Even though we often forget in the heat of the moment, we know that He alone is able to do things more than we can ask or imagine.  In fact, during the move He was working on another blessing we had not asked about…

 A year before the move, I had done some work for a company from California, through a friend in Detroit that I had worked with previously.  I was not paid when the work was completed.  I asked several times and after a number of months with no response realized the money was not likely to show up.  We considered legal action, but the California company was far away, we had no idea how to proceed, and the legal bills would likely exceed the money owed. The amount was left on the books as an accounts receivable item.

 A week after moving in, a check arrived unexpectedly in the mail, from the company in California.  I called to ask about it and was told that they had sold several subsidiaries, had some cash available, and would like to pay this amount for several months until the debt was covered.  I agreed joyfully and we thanked God.  The amount they were paying was the difference between our old and new house payments! Super Bonus!