1 Corinthians 19-24 True Wisdom and Foolishness Plus Feeling Loved!

Are You Foolish Enough for This Wisdom?

Yesterday could have been a very hard day for me if it weren't for God walking by my side. after a month of couch surfing waiting for the real estate deal for the Refurbished Homes by Refurbished People :Hotel Dieu for Women to close, we hit yet another snag. Have you ever been waiting a long time for something and have it get held up at the last minute? Look to God for guidance through the snares. God has promised "I will never leave you nor forsake you." This post has a mini miracle we received yesterday that reinforced God's love though a difficult time.
Here is how our day went yesterday.

Hurry Up - Wait : Hotel Dieu for Women on Hold

Thursday found me scrambling to get my daughter from Oshawa to help move our belongings from storage to begin our mission in Fauquier Ontario, only to find out that the estate funds had not come through, AND the vendors had reneged on the contract clause allowing us to rent with option to buy at the last minute. AND the arrangements we'd had for help moving everything  had fallen through as well.

Sooo..instead of being on the road on the way to our new home, here I was with a very grumpy teen having given up a fab outing  to move north, two storage lockers still needing to be paid for yet another month, still couch surfing, still having asthma attacks, no job nor ODSP. One light - a meeting slated for 2pm at the lawyer's office to find out what on earth was happening in this crazy mess.

 God shows Love - An Unexpected Prayer Partner

It was put in my head to call Sandra Berry of ICEJ Kawartha Lakes for prayer. Sandra -a recently retired insurance expert cut right to the center of the call: If you were facing God eye to eye what would you ask?

"If you were facing God 

    eye to eye 

what would you ask?"

"Discernment to know what God wants me to do. This is God's plan I'm only alive because of Christ. I need the paths made straight and the wrong doors to be closed tight."

Sandra shared with me that she too had made a long distance move, when she came to Kawartha Lakes, but God had put everything in place in the right time- even opening two job offers to her! 

I had not known this about Sandra - her long distance move had been about the same distance as the move we were preparing to make. I felt God's Reassurance and Love.

Sandra prayed in agreement with me, then said "I'm getting that there is a piece not in place yet in God's plan, and this is what he is waiting for."

"Well, Ralph of Cameron Community Church said there is an investor that might come on board, perhaps this is what is needed - a three-fold cord, so it is not just myself and the vendors."

I then prayed for Sandra's current transportation dilemma with her car, and passed on what I'd received - a sense of God's protection for her that was keeping her off the road.

God Secures a Plumber

I was scrambling to try and get receipts together for ODSP then - a plumbing emergency! My friend's usual plumber was unavailable, and God put it in my mind to call Chris Theopolis - a young man Ralph had mentioned doing an excellent job with plumbing at Jamie's home - h was available and could come right away. Chris, a licensed plumber, is on ODSP with a thyroid condition that tires him out easily, and a bad back, but I knew he could at least supervise us and tell us how to fix the problem.

What next Lord? I wondered, 

Was I ever going to get these receipts organized?

When we arrived the flow of water had been stemmed. We invited Chris to stay for lunch while we waited to see if the water would start flowing again.

"So what's God been doing in your life?"I asked Chris.

"Well I asked Him, and the only thing that keeps coming to mind is to go back to work part-time plumbing," Chris  shared.

"Would you be able to do an estimate on changing a two piece washroom into an accessible washroom?" I asked.

"Yes."

I showed him the floor plan and the two options we were thinking about for the accessible washroom. "Hmm ...is this the missing piece? I pondered " A licensed plumber on the Refurbished Homes by Refurbished People team? He certainly seemed to fit with God's plan.

God Sends Scriptural Advice

It was time to go to the lawyer's. My daughter and I dashed out the door while placing a quick reminder phone call to Ralph to join us at the lawyer's office.

Arriving at the office, I re-read Isaiah 61 the scripture prophesied by Anne W over the respite vision and received a prompting to read 1 Corinthians 19-24 Hmm is there even such a scripture I wondered?

Yes, 1 Corinthians 19-24 is a scripture about being wise in the ways of God and God's wisdom appearing as foolishness to the world. I pondered the scripture and shared it with my daughter. What should I do?

When Ralph arrived, I shared the scripture I'd been given with him and the lawyer.

God Shuts a Door - Opens A Window

During the meeting with the lawyer it was clarified that we definitely had a solid deal until October - something we'd already had, but that the vendors had backed out of the clause allowing us to move in and live there while awaiting the funds. Apparently there is a lien on the building for unpaid business taxes by the federal government, and the vendor's lawyer has misinterpreted how the building can be used in the meantime while the Feds await the payment of the business taxes. 

Another problem - no funds had arrived from the estate - this is now over 1 month from the date promised in the email by the executor.

 The lawyer speculated that e might need to proceed with court  process to get the funds - this quickly shut down the possibility with the investor Ralph had lined up. Door shut.the sound of that slam reverberated within me - DO NOT take the offer of an investor through Ralph.

The lawyer wanted to send a VERY strongly worded letter to my daughter, who is executor. He stressed that this is almost 4 years since my father has passed away, and we had yet to received an annual accounting of the estate. I asked if it could be worded asking if there was some misunderstanding about the transfer of funds. My daughter hadn't responded to any of my emails, nor her sister's phone calls, nor her own lawyers' communications - perhaps she was ill!

My lawyer's concern for us is that if we go north to start the mission and the funds do not all arrive in time to complete the agreement, then we would be stuck in northern Ontario..

My point was that if were were living there, we could start taking in roomers, open the gift shop, and I could stop paying the rental on the storage units. Right now I was in limbo, and it was taking a toll on my health sleeping in a home filled with smoke. 

I couldn't apply for a job,in Kawartha Lakes even if my health permitted it, because I had no idea when the deal would go solid and I'd need to move north.

Ralph quickly excused himself, but before he could go, mentioned that another option had opened that morning for the respite, but not with me as owner of the building- but as manager and I should call him when I was finished.

God Gives A Little Show of Love

Leaving the office, I said , "Well, time for plan B I need a place to live where I can breathe. Last night I thought I was going to suffocate at Thelma's. I opened all the doors and still couldn't get my breath. Lord, you need to show me what to do. The smoke is too much for my lungs to bear.

I went to print out my financial documents for ODSP - the bank statement wouldn't open, but I did manage to print out receipts for my travel to northern Ontario, and proof of my correspondence with the executor that I'd only received $15k not $115K as ODSP was claiming.

I jotted yet another email to my daughter asking about her health and if there had been a misunderstanding about the transfer of funds.

I still needed the proof from my bank account - so off to the bank kiosk at Loblaws. Pulling into the parking lot, my daughter said - "I would love to have some raspberries, and watermelon." It's such a hot day. 

"Well I replied, let's see what the Lord blesses us with."

After discovering I could only get a printout of the last week's transactions, I led the way to the markdown produce rack -praying we would find a blessing. Every mother wants to be able to give their child what they want, and it wasn't a lot to ask.

We were blessed with a pint of perfect raspberries - marked down to 44.9 from 43.49, and a quarter of a watermelon for a quarter of the price of the other packages on the display - there were only the two. 
Would you feel blessed?
I certainly felt God's reassuring Love surrounding me.

Driving out of the parking lot, a huge wind blew through the van sending the photocopies I'd made for ODSP flying, and one blew right out the window - no other wind around at all - only in the front of the van, Weird!

Backing into the driveway it began raining - ONLY on our van - no where else!
 It reminded me of this scene from "Oh God " with George Burns.

"Lord," I thought "Are these things of you? Are you trying to get my attention, or is this of something else?"

God Reassures the Funds are Coming

After dinner, miraculously I received an email from my daughter - executor of the estate - the lawyer's office hadn't requested the funds from her nor told her where nor how to send them to their office!
"I will never leave you nor forsake you." resounded in my mind.
I called Ralph to give him the news that the funds would be coming, but he made no mention of the other open window. Ralph is calling the vendors this morning to find out what he can of the situation for me.

I wonder what today's blessings will be?

May God Bless you,,
Suzanne
Thanks for reading!
Let's keep in touch! Subscribe to My Christian Contemplations by Email - It's free!
What did we do with the raspberries?
Here's yesterday's dessert:

Quick Raspberry-Filled Angelfood Cake