Well... It's been a heck of a week. I flew to India on Monday, spent three days there (two on business and one looking around) and flew home on Saturday. But that's not really what this blog is about. I'll write another time about my observations about India.
While I was in India, Alecia had the heating and cooling guys come to the house, because our central air conditioning isn't working. The whole furnace and A/C is about 20 years old, and they're telling us we need to replace it. The quotes were ranging between $5,000 and $10,000, depending on how good of system we wanted. Alecia broke this news to me on Friday. We talked a little bit about our options for getting hold of this kind of money, but nothing was looking very promising. It was a pretty depressing conversation.
We also talked about the Chamber of Commerce's annual Cash Bash scheduled for Saturday night. With Alecia's job, she really needs to go to these kinds of events, because they're good opportunities for her to mingle and talk to people who might end up donating to her health clinic. We had talked about going before and just hadn't committed, because she knew that I would be getting back from India that afternoon and that I might be too tired to go. I told her that I thought I'd be fine to go and that she ought to go ahead and get a ticket, since she really needed to be there. So she bought a ticket Friday afternoon.
Alecia spent Friday trying to figure out how to get the money for the new furnace. She talked to the bank. She started wondering again whether or not we should really have a reception following our wedding in August. It's hard to justify spending that kind of money on a wedding reception when you don't have heat or air conditioning. When Alecia picked me up at the airport Saturday afternoon, we didn't talk about the issue because it was too depressing, but it was obvious that it was weighing heavily on our thoughts. As Saturday evening rolled around, we questioned again whether or not we should go to the Cash Bash. In the end, we decided that we should still go.
The Cash Bash is a reverse raffle. 200 tickets are sold at $200 a piece and the grand prize for the event is $10,000. The ticket numbers are pulled out of a drum and marked off on a chart. There are gift baskets and small prizes that are handed out to the 1st, 25th, 50th, 75th, 100th, 125th, 150th and 175th ticket drawn. The last ticket drawn wins the $10,000. We had ticket #50.
As the night progressed, we kept waiting to hear our ticket number called. Before we knew it, 100 tickets had been pulled from the drum and ours wasn't one of them. We started talking about how we thought it would be worse to be eliminated near the end, than to be eliminated early on. I didn't even dare to think we might win. Then they were down to 50 tickets left in the drum. Alecia asked me if we should tell anyone we were still in it, or if that would jinx our chances. She decided to tell her aunt and uncle that we were still in it, because she didn't want them to leave before our number was called.
Then there were 25 tickets left, and ours still hadn't been called. That's when I started to get nervous. Then they fired off fifteen more numbers in rapid succession and our ticket still hadn't been drawn. We were in the final ten! At that point, they told us that the final four tickets would all win something. And they called off six more numbers. We heard, "Fifty..." and Alecia groaned. But then he finished, "Five." Ticket #55 had just been called, not ours! All the sudden, we were in the final four!
At that point, they had the holders of the final four tickets come to the front. They told us what the four prize packages were (fourth place was a patio set from Walmart, third place was a gift basket, second place was $1,000 and of course, first place was the $10,000). The third place gift basket included two tickets to a Shelby County Players production. At that point, I resigned myself to the fact that we would be winning that gift basket, since the last thing I really needed was free tickets to an SCP play. They gave us the opportunity to work out a deal with the other final four ticket holders (pooling our chances in exchange for splitting the prize). None of us wanted to deal.
They pulled a ticket.... It wasn't ours. They pulled another ticket... It wasn't ours either! Were we actually one of the final two tickets remaining? Did we actually have a 50/50 chance of winning $10,000 at an event we hadn't even bought a ticket for until the day before and hadn't even decided to really attend until an hour before it started? They pulled the second to last ticket, read the number.... And it wasn't ours! Alecia and I looked at each other and our jaws dropped as we realized we had just won $10,000!
At that point, things became a bit of a blur. People were congratulating us (including the other final four ticket holders, none of whom could have been any more gracious). They were presenting the big check to us. The radio station and the newspaper interviewed Alecia. People kept telling us how happy they were that we won because they knew we were starting our new life together and could really use the money.
A tremendous weight has been lifted from our shoulders. We can get the furnace and air conditioner replaced without feeling guilty about having the wedding.
Since last night, I can't help but think that winning that money was the answer to our prayers. But was it really? A lot of people have congratulated us and told us that "God is good." And truly, He is. I have no doubt about that. And it's certainly within his power to arrange for us to win this money. But would He do that for us? Why? Did we deserve this? Did we deserve it more than all the others who were there last night? Or was it purely chance?
And then I remember, we can't do anything to "deserve" God's grace. In Ephesians 2:8-9, Paul says, "For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast."
Is this money a gift from God? Paul answers the question for me in Romans 11:34-36, "'For who has known the mind of the Lord, or who has been his counselor?' 'Or who has given a gift to him that he might be repaid?' For from him and through him and to him are all things. To him be glory forever. Amen."
While I was in India, Alecia had the heating and cooling guys come to the house, because our central air conditioning isn't working. The whole furnace and A/C is about 20 years old, and they're telling us we need to replace it. The quotes were ranging between $5,000 and $10,000, depending on how good of system we wanted. Alecia broke this news to me on Friday. We talked a little bit about our options for getting hold of this kind of money, but nothing was looking very promising. It was a pretty depressing conversation.
We also talked about the Chamber of Commerce's annual Cash Bash scheduled for Saturday night. With Alecia's job, she really needs to go to these kinds of events, because they're good opportunities for her to mingle and talk to people who might end up donating to her health clinic. We had talked about going before and just hadn't committed, because she knew that I would be getting back from India that afternoon and that I might be too tired to go. I told her that I thought I'd be fine to go and that she ought to go ahead and get a ticket, since she really needed to be there. So she bought a ticket Friday afternoon.
Alecia spent Friday trying to figure out how to get the money for the new furnace. She talked to the bank. She started wondering again whether or not we should really have a reception following our wedding in August. It's hard to justify spending that kind of money on a wedding reception when you don't have heat or air conditioning. When Alecia picked me up at the airport Saturday afternoon, we didn't talk about the issue because it was too depressing, but it was obvious that it was weighing heavily on our thoughts. As Saturday evening rolled around, we questioned again whether or not we should go to the Cash Bash. In the end, we decided that we should still go.
The Cash Bash is a reverse raffle. 200 tickets are sold at $200 a piece and the grand prize for the event is $10,000. The ticket numbers are pulled out of a drum and marked off on a chart. There are gift baskets and small prizes that are handed out to the 1st, 25th, 50th, 75th, 100th, 125th, 150th and 175th ticket drawn. The last ticket drawn wins the $10,000. We had ticket #50.
As the night progressed, we kept waiting to hear our ticket number called. Before we knew it, 100 tickets had been pulled from the drum and ours wasn't one of them. We started talking about how we thought it would be worse to be eliminated near the end, than to be eliminated early on. I didn't even dare to think we might win. Then they were down to 50 tickets left in the drum. Alecia asked me if we should tell anyone we were still in it, or if that would jinx our chances. She decided to tell her aunt and uncle that we were still in it, because she didn't want them to leave before our number was called.
Then there were 25 tickets left, and ours still hadn't been called. That's when I started to get nervous. Then they fired off fifteen more numbers in rapid succession and our ticket still hadn't been drawn. We were in the final ten! At that point, they told us that the final four tickets would all win something. And they called off six more numbers. We heard, "Fifty..." and Alecia groaned. But then he finished, "Five." Ticket #55 had just been called, not ours! All the sudden, we were in the final four!
At that point, they had the holders of the final four tickets come to the front. They told us what the four prize packages were (fourth place was a patio set from Walmart, third place was a gift basket, second place was $1,000 and of course, first place was the $10,000). The third place gift basket included two tickets to a Shelby County Players production. At that point, I resigned myself to the fact that we would be winning that gift basket, since the last thing I really needed was free tickets to an SCP play. They gave us the opportunity to work out a deal with the other final four ticket holders (pooling our chances in exchange for splitting the prize). None of us wanted to deal.
They pulled a ticket.... It wasn't ours. They pulled another ticket... It wasn't ours either! Were we actually one of the final two tickets remaining? Did we actually have a 50/50 chance of winning $10,000 at an event we hadn't even bought a ticket for until the day before and hadn't even decided to really attend until an hour before it started? They pulled the second to last ticket, read the number.... And it wasn't ours! Alecia and I looked at each other and our jaws dropped as we realized we had just won $10,000!
At that point, things became a bit of a blur. People were congratulating us (including the other final four ticket holders, none of whom could have been any more gracious). They were presenting the big check to us. The radio station and the newspaper interviewed Alecia. People kept telling us how happy they were that we won because they knew we were starting our new life together and could really use the money.
A tremendous weight has been lifted from our shoulders. We can get the furnace and air conditioner replaced without feeling guilty about having the wedding.
Since last night, I can't help but think that winning that money was the answer to our prayers. But was it really? A lot of people have congratulated us and told us that "God is good." And truly, He is. I have no doubt about that. And it's certainly within his power to arrange for us to win this money. But would He do that for us? Why? Did we deserve this? Did we deserve it more than all the others who were there last night? Or was it purely chance?
And then I remember, we can't do anything to "deserve" God's grace. In Ephesians 2:8-9, Paul says, "For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast."
Is this money a gift from God? Paul answers the question for me in Romans 11:34-36, "'For who has known the mind of the Lord, or who has been his counselor?' 'Or who has given a gift to him that he might be repaid?' For from him and through him and to him are all things. To him be glory forever. Amen."
Nice Job Russ!! Remember He works in mysterious ways. Amazing that you could see it work. Most of the time you have to look back to see the path that He has made for you.
ReplyDeleteWoohoo! Congrats. And even though I'm jealous, it is a good reminder of the way God provides for our needs in unforseen ways and at just the right moment. That's what Melissa and I need to remember right now.
ReplyDelete(BTW ... I'm your first follower!)