Biggest Fear

 

During morning prayer last week, Chris admitted one of his biggest fears was not being able to provide the necessary things we need to survive (ie. food, medical attention, etc ). We have certainly seen the reality of these very scenarios here.

A beautiful lady, who we will name Mary, lives not too far from our house. She has three kids living with her. Her husband died about a year ago. She and her husband used to make bread and sell it for a living, but she couldn’t catch up with getting ingredients and running the business after he died. The Carmody family takes a “diario” to her once a month (diarios are bags of necessary food items like beans, rice, sugar, and salt). They also help her with ingredients for her to make bread once a week. Some of the bread goes to another lady whose husband is out of work due to medical issues. The other lady sells the bread to help her family survive. It’s a great partnership!

A couple of weeks ago, the Holy Spirit prompted the Carmodys to buy more than the bread ingredients. Although Mary already received a diario last month, Karen had an urge to get another one for her.

The materials were dropped off, and as Mary was looking through the bags, Karen explained to her that she felt the Holy Spirit prompting her to buy another diario for the month. Mary started sobbing uncontrollably. She then praised the Lord for providing this for her. After a time of crying and praising, she told Karen that her family hadn’t had anything to eat since breakfast the prior day (which was just a bit of rice). The kids went to school that morning, crying because they were so hungry and knew nothing was at home waiting for them. Mary consoled the kids, saying that ingredients for the bread would be there that afternoon. Mary said she had asked God for help and Karen was the instrument He chose to do so.

After Mass last Sunday, there was a man, who we will name Joseph, hanging out at the door of the church. As people were passing him, they were giving him money. We asked how we could help him. He said he needed medical supplies for his foot but the pharmacy was closed. He also needed toothpaste and hygiene items. (Seriously, Costa Rican people take great care of their teeth!) We walked with him to a couple of stores, found the items he needed, and purchased them. Chris saw his shoes needed to be replaced as well and also gave him socks. We then prayed over, cleaned, and bandaged his foot. He walked away thanking and blessing God and us.

We have seen Joseph walking in town since then many times. He gives us a thumbs up, letting us know he is still doing well.

These experiences really impacted us deeply.

The example of obedience is phenomenal here, right? Both Mary and Joseph had no choice but to ask and trust God would provide for them. And when they received all they needed, they praised the Lord over and over again. That’s the goal, right? We are brought closer to our Lord as we rely on him with our suffering and our biggest fears, knowing there is nothing else left in this world that can help us.

Nothing.

The picture above is Job buying a diario with Karen Carmody. 💕