Tuesday, October 28, 2008

I Have a Barbecue Sauce Fairy

I am not surprised. Not at God. Not at my BBQ Fairy.

I had shared with someone about the November Challenge that the Keena family was on, to "make it to November". The other day Grace fixed herself a chicken patty and was looking for some bbq sauce, but the bottle was nearly empty. She squeezed just enough out of it, to make do. She declared "We need more barbecue sauce, Mom!" I told her I would buy some in November, because our grocery budget was shot for the month, and we would just have to do without for now. I mean, it's only bbq sauce. The next time she made a chicken patty (yes, this is one of her favorites!) she was surprised to find out that I was true to my word, and had NOT bought any bbq sauce yet. Her "We still don't have any bbq sauce?" was answered by my restating that I would buy some in November, because our grocery budget was shot for the month, and it WAS only bbq sauce. A similar conversation occurred the night we had baked potatoes WITHOUT cheese or sour cream. We did have plenty of butter and salt and pepper, and that's really what you're supposed to put on baked potatoes, right? So once again, I told my family I would buy some cheese and sour cream in November. Of course just the phrase "in November" made it sound all the more dramatic, I thought, so I WAS working it a bit.

Fast forward to today, I was having lunch with a friend, we'll call her Barbie Q. Faree, and I shared these bbq-sauce-desperate stories with her. We chatted back and forth about the challenges of feeding our ever-hungry children, including where to find reduced meat, buying from the locals, and what specials were where this week. We also shared that both of our husbands only get paid once a month, and the challenges that come with that. Including not having any bbq sauce at the end of the month.

After lunch, she drove me back to my house, only after having stopped at a local grocery store to pick up some steaks that were on special. She got several packages for her family, as well as a couple of packages for mine! What a blessing! I can't remember the last time I bought beef that wasn't ground!

I had been home for about 20 minutes when the doorbell rang. It was Barbie, and she handed me a couple bags of groceries and said "You left these in my car!" ??? I had not left any groceries in her car, because I distinctly remembered doing the "We Have Steak Dance" in the kitchen as I was putting my meat in the freezer. She handed the bags to me, and I could see it was not just meat, but a few more items. Care to guess? In total there was another package of steak, plus a couple pounds of ground beef, plus a large carton of sour cream, plus two blocks of cheddar cheese, plus BARBECUE SAUCE! I set the barbecue sauce on the table with a note that said "To Grace & David" From God. What do you think they had for snack?

We had more month left at the end of our grocery budget, and God had just the right amount of bbq sauce that He thought we needed. So he enlisted His bbq sauce fairy to deliver the goods.

I am not surprised. Not at God. Not at my BBQ Fairy. Because I know my God delights in watching over the smallest details of my life. And because I know my BBQ Fairy delights in helping God execute His plans. I'm so glad they are both in my life!

5 comments:

The Frugal Muse said...

I loved this post. A simply great reminder about God as our Provider even in the midst of uncertain economic times.

Gary said...

Cool!

Bekah said...

I have little tears in my eyes. Our God is so good!

Jarrod Flaming said...

Kim -- You get it! This is sooo good! Many people don't believe this is the way God works, but it is. Thanks for sharing about these "details". I love it!!

Sandy Berndt said...

I loved your BBQ story. I keep track of you and your family through your blog. We miss you here at Long Grove.