So I'm breaking all sense of this blog's purpose and once again writing a serious post. This is getting weird...I need to work on adding some comedy. But this is a story I want to share with you about the power of prayer and tithing.
As you all know I've been working so that I can pay to go to school and save up for housing for next year. At the beginning of December I had enough money saved up to pay my tuition for spring semester; then life happened. I had two car accidents, of which I paid the deductable for one of them myself since it was my fault. Next, I applied for housing for next fall since it is very competitive to get apartments in Pocatello. What I didn't know when I started the application is I would have to pay my security deposit to even be on the wait list. Finally, it was the holidays and Christmas gifts don't buy themselves. Even the inexpensive ones.
When I sat down and went through my finances last week I realized something. After all these unforseen expenses, I didn't have enough money for tuition and even after my paycheck this week I would come up short if I had any other expenses. After tuition I was going to have no money for books. And then it hit me. I still had to pay tithing. I was going to come up short if I did and I didn't know how I was going to tell Mom and Dad I needed money to cover my shortfall on tuition and that I would need money for books. I considered putting off paying my tithing to the end of the month when I would have more than enough money to pay it. But as I considered this I realized that was the wrong route and I decided then and there that I would pay tithing and probably a bit extra for good measure this Sunday and hope something happened before the next day so I could pay my tuition. I said my prayers that night and said "Well I'm choosing to pay tithing, please back me up on this decision and help me find the money for school."
As I sat down to the computer tonight I was checking my email for work to see if I had a band contracted for sure or not for next week at school. There was an email from a random account at ISU I didn't recognize with a subject saying Richard C. Deus Trust Scholarship. It said "We received a Richard C. Deus Trust Scholarship for you, in the amount of $750, for the 2010 spring semester." I was speechless and nearly started to cry. This was exactly what I needed. Between this and another small scholarship I had received I have half of my tuition paid for now. I will have money for books and a little to spare. I tell you now; pay your tithing and pray. No matter what expenses are coming, if you have faith and pay tithing, the Lord will help you make ends meet. I am so blessed to have this lesson in tithing and the money I need to get my education. I pray that each of you can have the same blessings in your life when finances get tight.
Tuesday, January 5, 2010
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4 comments:
Why yes Christine, I too know that tithing is essential. The last semester of grad school for Tory we always paid our tithing first and then our bills, not really thinking about it, and there was always plenty. But now we have sat down to reassess our budget and realize theren is really no possible way we could have made it, yet we always did. Tithing and pray works.
Ditto from me.
I think tithing looks like it should be the hardest commandment to keep, but really its the easiest because the blessings come so recognizably and often miraculously.
We attribute Scott being able to go to school full time and support a wife and child on about $12,000 a year to tithing. I think even if money or scholarships don't appear sometimes the Lord can just bless you with figuring out how to do more with less. (I attribute clearance racks to tithing)
I know this is getting long, but its easy to go off on this subject. There was a guy in our ward who told this story a few months ago.
He is in the guard and going to school and somehow he fell off the Army's payroll. They didn't realize it until two paychecks hadn't shown up, and then they said it would take a while to fix. When he and his wife realized they had to pay tithing or bills, he said he was excited because he finally got to test it. So they paid the tithing and waited to see what would happen. Of course, within days they got a check from some other person unrelated to who he had talked to in payroll who had just noticed the discrepency and straightened it all out.
I love those stories.
I don't have anything more to say than what was already said . . . other than, it works.
You go girl! I'm proud of you! And you're right...it ALWAYS works. Thanks for sharing your awesome story!
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