Walmart

"Find out what God wants you to do and do that."

It is easy to say.  But, it takes trust to actually do.  Trust in God, really.  So, God had made it pretty clear to us that He wanted us to send Diane to a private Christian school, even though there seemed to be a perfectly fine public school a few blocks from our house.  And, from the outside, the public school looked so much nicer, and offered a huge benefit that the private school did not.  It was completely free.

But, when you're following God, money can not be your deciding factor on things.  No, the only thing that can be your deciding factor is what God wants you to do, whether it seems like a financially wise idea or not.  God always knows best, and He always has your best interest at heart.  It's true.  I feel a side note coming...

Soon after I got filled with the Holy Spirit and started living for God, I spent a lot of time visiting Christian bookstores.  I mean, I wanted to go into every Christian bookstore that I could find to see all the gems they had.  I was so hungry to know God even more.  I "happened" to go into the Christian bookstore in my hometown of Parsons, KS, and I "happened" to buy this little 2x3 inch card that had Jeremiah 29:11 written on it.  Now, I know that is a very popular verse, and people quote it often.  It is such a wonderful, wonderful promise from God!

"For I know the plans I have for you,' declares the Lord, 'plans to prosper you, and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future."

Wow!  Well, I bought that little card.  I think it was a dollar, and it may have been the best dollar I have ever spent.  I put that card in my little light blue Chevy Spectrum, right in front of the steering wheel.  You know, that plastic "window" where you can see your speed and how much gas you have left.  I set that card right there.  And, every time I got in my car, I read that card out loud.  And, as I was driving here and there around town, I would say that scripture.  I would say, "For God knows the plans He has for me, plans to prosper me, and not to harm me, plans to give me hope and a future.  Jeremiah 29:11"  I have no idea how many times I spoke those words out loud, but it was at least hundreds.

And, that verse got inside of me.  I mean, it truly changed me from the inside out.  No can ever convince me that God doesn't have a good plan for me and for my life.  No one can ever convince me that God doesn't love me, and want wonderful things for me.  Why?  Because that verse has gotten so rooted into my heart nothing can take it out.  And, I didn't realize it at the time, but it helped me so much when a few short months later He started talking with Jeremy and me about attending Bible School.  Because when you believe Jeremiah 29:11, you have absolutely no problem obeying the Lord.  It can still be hard to do what God wants you to do, but you are so convinced that what He wants you to do is best, you wouldn't dream of not doing it!

Yes, God had a lot of wisdom having me meditate and read that verse over and over again.  It's still in me today.  I only want to do what He wants me to do.  I only want to be where He wants me to be.  I haven't followed Him perfectly over these last 20 years, but God knows my heart, and I have truly endeavored to follow Him always.

OK, end of side note! :) So yes, the private Christian school was not free.  Interestingly enough, it was the same cost as Jeremy and my tuition had been at Rhema Bible Training Center.  This would cause my mind to go tilt.  I would think, "She could be going to Bible School for the same cost as we're going to be paying for her to go to kindergarten!"  Little did we know in a few short years we would be paying for three kids' tuition at that very school.  And, something funny about that was that Olathe Christian School actually had a deal that if you pay for three kids' tuition your fourth one is free.  Only we didn't have a fourth one to enroll!  That can definitely be a hard blow for a bargain-hunter like me.  It didn't bother Jeremy one bit, and he would laugh when I would say, "But, if we just had one more child enrolled there, they could go free!" Ha!

So, Diane's first year of school we decided that I would get a job at Walmart as a cashier to pay for her schooling.  I worked 16 hours a week, and soon after starting they moved me over to the service desk.  I really enjoyed working the service desk.  And, I got wonderful opportunities to share about the Lord while I was working there.  But, it was pretty hard for Jeremy and me to do in the beginning...

At the time we went to a church where most of the husbands worked and the wives stayed home with the kids.  Have you ever noticed that different churches have different ideas about things?  I don't mean that badly, I just mean that some churches may have a lot of stay-at-home moms, whereas at another church a lot of the moms have careers.  We were at the stay-at-home mom church.  And, to be quite honest, I kind of had the idea that it was best for the husband to work and the wife to stay home with the kids also.  I wondered if this idea could really be from the Lord.  Should I really get a job to pay for Diane to go to kindergarten?

Around this same time, I was reading the Bible, not really thinking about the whole work thing.  And, praise the Lord, He spoke to my heart.  He said, "Have you ever noticed that the Proverbs 31 woman worked outside of the home?"  The Proverbs 31 woman.  Aw, yes.  That wonderful passage of scripture that Christian women read, sometimes with much trepidation, wondering how they could ever live up to this woman that the Bible calls "The Virtuous Woman."

I certainly had not noticed that, and I didn't even think it was true.  "Could that possibly be true?" I questioned the Lord.  He responded, "Look for yourself."

So, I flipped through my Bible to Proverbs 31 and began reading.  I started in verse 10, where it begins talking about this Godly woman.  And, sure enough, I got down to verse 16 and noticed that it said, "...out of her earnings, she plants a vineyard."  At this point the Lord questioned me, saying, "Out of whose earnings?"  And I responded, "Hers!"  I was so amazed!

I continued reading and got down to verse 24 and saw that it said, "She makes linen garments and sells them..."  Wow!  She had her own clothing business!  At this point, she became even more impressive to me than she already had been!  She seemed to be able to do so much, and she was graced to do it all.  And, I got such a peace in my heart.  And, I knew if it was what God wanted me to do, God would grace me too!  Yes, the Lord did want me to get a job to pay for Diane's kindergarten year.

Why did I share all this?  I think it is because sometimes the Lord wants you to do something, and it might not really be the "popular" thing to do, even among your closest friends.  I think that could be when it's hardest to do what He wants you to do, because you think that your closest friends would surely agree with you.  But, it's always a good idea to follow Him, no matter what.  Oh, He's so good and so wonderful, and you can never go wrong following His leading!  Because, just like Jeremiah 29:11 was written to ME, it was also written to YOU!  So, I worked at Walmart for almost exactly a year, and we used my earnings to pay for Diane's tuition.