“I will abundantly bless her provision; I will satisfy her poor with bread.”  Psalm 132:15

Last week was the second “Idaho Gives” Day here in McCall hosted at the Manchester Ice Center. It is a day which allows people to make financial donations to favorite   non profits for a 24 hour period. All donations are made on line, there are cash prize awards based on the number of donors garnered and much of the success depends on familiarity with social media to get the word out. For the last year, since the last giving day, a group has been meeting monthly to get ready for May 1. One of the side benefits of “Idaho Gives” is that local organizations are working together and we’re getting to know one another, not as competitors but as collaborators.

It seems to be working pretty well. State wide, “Idaho Gives” received more than $7,700.00, almost twice the total of 2013. Locally, there was increased visibility and interest as  more people visited the tables at the ice rink . The ice center donated free ice skating for a couple of hours to the public. And of course, the Human Slingshot Event drew a crowd.  It was a busy, active and fun, (although brrr cold) afternoon.

So how did the food pantry do? To paraphrase a dear woman, “We were blessed.” We received enough as my friend Lewis said today, “to buy meat for a month or so.” It is so good to have a friend remind me about what is important. It’s too easy to focus on how much money other groups received and even to become discouraged about where the culture places its priorities. In my case, discouragement can become a snare for grumbling and negativity.

Lewis spoke wisely. We can provide meat for families, even without tapping into this donation. There was a time not too long ago when that wasn’t possible but in recent years, the more the needs grow, the more we can meet those needs. We   always have enough to be generous, we never run out of food and we are blessed beyond comprehension. Recently after months of not having bread for families, we received so much bread from different sources, my prayer became “OK, Father, I think we now have enough bread for us and every other food bank in Idaho. But thank You!”

Why is that? Why these weekly miracles of the loaves and fishes?

It is so simple. My dependency, and that of HH&RC, is not on a one day giving event. Our dependency,    24-7 all year long, is on God. He is the most generous, most magnanimous, most charitable Donor imaginable. He withholds nothing that is good for all things that are good come from Him. I don’t have to go on-line or get credit card information for a donation. I don’t have to “Like” a thousand friends on Facebook. My Face to Face isn’t on the Internet. All that’s needed is a humble, personal request.

The Lord’s answer sometimes is so immediate, it’s almost scarey. I never have to compete for what’s “out there” because God’s provisions are within reach.  Faith reaches out to take hold of it. Another friend today spoke again about the Wood Bank’s unending supply of wood from last year’s logs.  “It’s just not possible that in May there is still wood to deliver. I looked in the barn and it was empty, but then the whole garage was full of wood. I can help this  destitute woman again. “ He shook his head and his eyes filled with tears. He knows first hand the power of inexplicable, divine abundance.

The lesson I learned again last week is that the world’s way of doing things is effective for some things. There is a place for “Idaho Gives” and there are benefits which  come out of local cooperative efforts here Valley County.

But if we want the miracles, those blessings which defy explanation, let us  work, pray, unite, love as one in the Spirit first – and then stand back and watch the river overflow the banks.

EAG