The Ring! (Just in case you couldn't tell)
The Purchasing of the Ring
(I suggested this as a possible prequel to The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings, but the idea was turned down)
I’m baaaaacckkk! (This is Rob, in case that was unclear…which it might have been…). If you read my first post, all the decisions I was making regarding the design and purchase of Bev’s engagement ring probably all seem like sound decisions. I found out what kind of ring Bev liked, what made a diamond valuable and how to purchase one wisely, altered some of my spending habits, and ran everything past Bev’s best friend. But let’s please keep in mind that even with all that, I still don’t have money for this. And I have to keep this entire process a secret. All this new stuff I’m learning, and I can’t say a word of it to the person to whom I tell everything every single day. And the real challenge is that I can’t even really scale back our Adventure Saturdays, dates, and other spending that involves her, because the moment I do that, she’ll know something’s up.
So, can somebody say, “Praise God,” for work bonuses and that extra special third paycheck that comes twice a year?
Did you say it? I put it in quotes and everything.
I’ll wait.
…
Anyway, with that I was able to at least buy the diamond. And I was soooo close to being able to buy the ring too. Just a few hundred dollars away really. Slap a few Benjis on me and I’m there. (No? No to that phrase? Fine.) The only additional problem is that I also have a week long road trip coming up, and I have to pay for that (don’t question the road trip-it was a trip to visit both of our families and introduce Bev to my grandmother). This means that a couple hundred dollars away turns into all the dollars away. And there is no third paycheck in sight.
“Slap a few Benjis on me and I’m there.”
Here is where some more of my faith had to come in. I can’t see how I’m going to get this money anytime soon, but I also know that now is the time to do this. One thing that most people know about me is that I am very committed to ministry at my church. Most of my days look like this:
Wake up (and shower and brush teeth and stuff)
Go to work
Go to church
Go home
Go to sleep
Rinse and repeat
It’s a very rigorous schedule that leaves me only one or two nights off in a week most of the time, if I even get that. One thing that most people know about ministry is that there is usually not a paycheck. So I have all this time that I am putting into an effort that is not currently bringing me money. Now, sometimes I am a logical person (only sometimes). A logical person would look at my situation and realize I could get a part time job and come up with the money in a month or less. The only problem with that solution is that it would involve dropping ministries that God called me to be committed to.
Here's a picture of the ring with no diamond to sort of illustrate my point...in a backwards kind of way.
I had to purposefully choose to stay committed to ministry even when that meant not making enough money to buy this ring any time soon. But God is really good at providing for what He wants us to do if we’re willing to stay obedient to His plan. He wouldn’t bring me far enough to buy a diamond just to leave me with no ring. So I stay faithful, committed, and eating my pb&j. Sometimes you can switch it up by putting some of your morning cereal in the sandwich too. Gives it a little crunch. It’s pretty good.
So anyway, in the midst of pb&j, jokes about my lunch at work and omg where is this money supposed to come from—you know that mysterious “unexpected check” that people are always talking about on TV and in church? Well, I got one. And it was exactly the amount I needed to buy the ring and set the stone.
“God is really good at providing for what He wants us to do if we’re willing to stay obedient to His plan.”
Are you shouting yet? Maybe you missed that. Let me run it back for you. IT WAS EXACTLY THE AMOUNT I NEEDED TO BUY THE RING AND SET THE STONE.
Boom. When I saw the check, I was stuck. Just stuck. I just sat there in my room not knowing what to do or say.
Come on in here Jesus! Won’t He come through for you! “But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, AND ALL THESE THINGS SHALL BE ADDED TO YOU!! “ That’s Matthew 6:33 (see I looked it up for you and everything).
All jokes aside, I hope this story encourages you. Even if it’s not marriage that you’re working on right now, if God called you to do it, you don’t have to resort to alternative or disobedient methods. And you don’t have to worry about how He’s going to do it. Or when. All you have to do is put one foot in front of the other in God’s direction. And maybe eat a little pb&j.
Next up? The proposal! But you’ll have to wait a couple weeks for that. But that’s ok! Bev’s got an awesome post coming next week! Ok bye!