I've told this story before - but it never gets old. You have heard it has been said, "Give & It Shall Be Given" but do you really believe it? I repeat this true story every year because it is important to me to give God Glory for the miraculous way He shows us that He is God.
Many years ago, I had the opportunity to purchase just as many (5 gallon) buckets of laundry detergent at wholesale (for only a few dollars each) that my van would hold. I had a family of 6 and it seemed all I ever did was... more laundry, so I was extremely thankful with my laundry blessing for a small amount of cash. I had never even seen a 5 gallon bucket of detergent before, so I was amazed.
I had planned to bring home at least 8 buckets, but with all the luggage and Christmas items....the van would not hold but only three. On the way home to Georgia the Lord dealt with me to give away two of my newly attained buckets. I was to give one to our youth pastor who had a small income and I was to give another to a large family in the church that was in great financial need. But that only left one (1) bucket for me.
My heart was selfish and I rationalized why I should give any away, but keep all the buckets for myself and my large family, "I mean I am the one who found the bargain!" But the more I argued with God, the more I knew that I had to do the right thing and obey God. So I got a grip on my heart and I decided I would give two of my buckets away cheerfully and do it as unto the Lord.
When I dropped off the buckets to these two families in need, my heart rejoiced in their blessing. I went home and began using my bucket without anymore thought. Months passed and my bucket seemed to get low, but never run dry. It was so familiar like from the pages of the Bible concerning the woman with the oil. The laundry detergent stayed. And months later, I still had not purchased any detergent.
A year passed and an older couple in the church invited the whole family over for dinner one night and just as we were leaving, the gentleman said, "pull your van over to the shed." I thought to myself, Oh no he's going to show my husband his tools or an antique car and I will never get these kids to bed tonight. But he said, "I've got something I want to give you." And I figured he had some garden tomatoes and cucumbers, but my jaw dropped to the floor when he pulled out a 5 gallon bucket of laundry detergent and loaded it in the back of our van. The blessing did not stop there. He gave us a case of paper towels and toilet paper, too. My blessing had come full circle and had multiplied and continued for years. God was showing me how amazing He was when I would only have a heart to give.
We moved to Maryland a few years later and the UPS man showed up at my door with a delivery that I did not order. You will never guess what it was this time. It was a case of liquid laundry detergent, fabric softener, juice boxes, and fruit snacks. Six months later, I was working at the church office. When I came downstairs to leave, there was a 5 gallon bucket of laundry detergent in the doorway with a note, "for Gail". Every time I turned around, someone was giving me laundry detergent. I started getting so much that I started giving more of it away to those in need. Years passed and I never bought anymore detergent, and my bucket never ran dry. It was unbelievable.
Time passed and we moved again - this time to Tennessee. I still washed clothes for a family of six and never bought detergent. One day, I was in the office at church taking care of some data entry when one of our members stopped by. She grabbed my car keys off the desk and said, "I just need to put something in your car". I said, "okay - Thanks". She popped back in with my keys a few minutes later and said goodbye. I really did not give the incident any thought until I was driving home and I heard a big "thud" in my trunk. When I got home and opened the trunk, I was amazed one more time to find yet another 5 gallon bucket of detergent. I mean nobody would have ever believed my story! But God was writing it and He is just that amazing.
A few years passed and we moved to Virginia where no one knew about the detergent. In our first weeks, someone approached me and said, "you may think this is kinda strange, but I have my own business and I wanted to give you something and I prayed. And the Lord told me to give you laundry detergent, so I am promising to provide you with detergent the rest of your life". Strange? No, I really did not think it was strange at all. Absolutely not, but it has brought tears to my eyes on so many occasions....Because one scoop of detergent reminds me every week of the concrete and unchanging Faithfulness of a Mighty God who cares about all the little things in your life.
Needless to say, we did not purchase laundry detergent for over 20 years. And YES, I still believe - "Give and it shall be given unto you!" God sees and knows and He takes care of you to the smallest detail with His great love and His abundant Provision. So the next time the Lord lays something generous on your heart to do, Do It and watch the blessing flow to your life.
