Needs and a little extra....

Since I have quit my job, things have been tight and we are struggling. But, it is a good struggle. We are having to re-evaluate. We are having to trust. We are having to simplify. We are not good at these things. So, as we are learning, our bank account is dwindling, our savings are shrinking and we (ok - I) are (am) panicking. We have many trips coming up and few funds. Some of them are necessary, some of them not, but they all feel necessary.
But anyway...yesterday was Isaiah's first birthday party which was wonderful for lots of reasons. One of which is that the Lord used it as a reminder of how He meets our needs through the body, through his people. Over and over again. Since we have become foster parents, he has met our needs in amazing ways through all of you! Before we were ever foster parents, we received a ton of gear and $1800 in gift cards. When the girls came, there was a never ending stream of people bearing clothes, food, formula, and toys. We had friends who did a room makeover for Abby. When Thomas and Joy came, again, more clothes and gift cards. When Isaiah came, you all threw us THREE baby showers, and brought us meals for a month. In nearly eight months, we just bought Isaiah's first pack of diapers because we had that many. We have tried to be faithful in giving when we felt led, even if we didn't know how it was going to work out, yet it always has. Back in April, we felt specifically led to give a certain amount to the church's new building fund even though we needed to pull from savings to do so. The next day, we found out from our accountant that we would be receiving a tax return that was three times the amount we had given to the church.
Back to my original point, yesterday was Isaiah's birthday party, and things were super tight financially. But we have just been trying to trust. One gift that we got was a photo session for Isaiah which is a huge blessing because we truly can't afford it and we wanted so badly to get his one year portraits made. I mean - this is not a necessity, but it is a little extra. Also, imagine my shock when I opened a Sesame Street card and multiple large bills fell out! Completely unexpected! Our bank account was about to be in the red friends, and now it's not.
When I think about our God and how he has ministered to and provided for us through you all, in small and large ways, in the ways you all have cared for and loved our family, the only way to describe it is: ridiculously, extravagantly generous LOVE!