It Is Better To Store Up Faith Than Things

By Linzy Bruno

“Honey, I don’t know what we’re are going to do? We only have 5 weeks till our lease is up and we don’t want to stay here. You don’t want to stay at your warehouse job and I certainly don’t want to stay here with no one to talk to, with you and Micky gone all day and all night, not home till midnight or even later! I think instead of renewing the lease we should consider Steve’s idea and move to Maine.”

“Steve’s idea? Steve’s idea……are you nuts? We can’t trust him. He’s just a kid!”

“But you do know right that Steve is very successful in Maine, right and that he is promising to help us get all set up there with jobs and a place to live! Just because he’s young doesn’t mean we can’t trust him!” I replied in frustration.

“Well it’s a big step to take. Let me think about it.”

“Yeah, well don’t forget to pray about it. I’ve been praying about this and I think God is saying we should do this. You hate your job, it’s killing your knees and your back; running all around that big warehouse for twelve hours a day and night,” I said; pleadingly. This went on for about two weeks……

I inevitably convinced my husband that I had heard from God and that we did need to get out of Indie, so we began to plan our move. There was something about Indie that had bothered me from the start. I returned to my husband by boarding a plane all by myself, which frightened me, but I did it because I felt strongly that God was urging me, even though I had divorced him a few years back. Now in a new environment, there was a very different feeling. Everyone stayed completely to themselves, it was rare to see people chatting outside the huge apartment complex where we lived. There was so much more crime there. All the convenience stores and liquor stores had heavy glass separating the customers from the workers; probably break proof if that’s possible. I had no one to talk to when my husband and son were at work and I didn’t even feel safe enough to keep the door unlocked during the day.

Furthermore, the supervisors at the job my husband and son worked together at treated their workers poorly, forced them to work overtime and didn’t pay especially well. The work was tedious and quitting was a common occurrence. Therefore, I rejoiced at our decision to move.

We couldn’t afford to put all of our belongings on a truck and move with everything we owned, so we ended up putting everything into storage there. We figured his brothers who lived there would help us sell some of it and his other brother was in need, so we could give him whatever he wanted and get the payments to end quickly, but that’s not how it went…..

“Honey, when are you gonna call your brothers on that storage unit? We’ve paid so much at this point that it would be smarter just to let it all go? You still don’t have much of a job, with Jeff not even paying most of the time, I only make $90 a week and Micky’s business hasn’t taken off yet…..paying for that storage unit is killing us!” I said; dramatically, as a plan to move him to action.

“I’ll call one of them, okay both of them, later today,” he replied.

I went and laid down on our motel room bed and prayed. “God what are we gonna do? I know you led us here. I remember in the car we had, that just barely got us here; all that we could stuff into it we took so we could at least keep some of our belongings. It was scary, but I knew You were right there with us. I could feel it. All that way, through a 15 hour drive, I felt Your Guidance and Protection over us. I remember singing worship music and thanking You often during that ride and You know how much I hate long car rides…….That one I miraculously enjoyed! Please help us get rid of this bill and to rebound from this move. I’m putting all my trust in You Lord,” in Jesus Name, I pray, Amen.

I felt much better after that, as the Lord’s Comfort washed over me. And said similar prayers when I got frightened again. I think we ended up paying that bill for something like 7 or 8 months longer, but somehow, with hardly any income, God got us through. I remember having to purchase dinner nightly with only $90 a week and I had to cook on a hot plate and a large toaster oven. We didn’t even have a kitchen sink, only a tiny bath-style sink in the living area.

It was incredible living right by the ocean, only a few feet from our motel room. I couldn’t believe the joy I had, even with almost no money, a lingering, unnecessary storage bill, a car that we knew was dying and a quickly diminishing bank account left over from Indie. Even with such serious financial problems, but still I had joy. The joy of the Lord was with me and I knew He would take care of us.

AND HE DID!

We ended up with decent jobs that we didn’t have to drive to; living right on the grounds, (which was amazing, since our car did die soon after that.) My husband ran this tiny resort with 11 cabins, one of which we got to live in free of all charge, except for one small propane bill. We finally started to come out from under financial burden.

AND, when that motel owner ended up selling the place and we had to move once again, we were prepared (with a little help from Steve and unemployment for my husband.)

BUT, we still had no furniture because of our motel living. We didn’t need any. We just got ourselves an air mattress and we were all set. The owners gave our son a bed also.

Now staring down this new move, we were wondering how we would furnish our new place. But then, a guest at the motel changed all that with one of the most generous acts I’ve ever known.

“Hey man, I’ve got a question for ya,” he said. “Do you guys need furniture for your new place because I’ve got a storage unit that I’d like to stop paying for. It sure would help me out if you would take it off my hands,” he continued, as he strolled the grounds with his dog Blake.

“That would be amazing, but you have to let us pay you for it,” my husband pleaded.”

“No no no. I don’t want any money,” he replied; shaking his head.

“Wow, thanks so much Chris!” My husband replied, as he walked back down the hill to our cottage to bring me the good news.

“I knew God would come through!” I shouted. 

And everything fit into our new place perfectly. We have a dining area, which is complete with a nice large dining set, an armoire that suits our television perfectly, a coffee table, 2 end tables, another TV stand, a complete queen-sized bed, a standing lamp, table lamp and tons of kitchen stuff, towels and even a few toiletries.

Our first night in our new place I prayed: “I knew You would help us Lord. Thank You SO much! I know I can always count for Your Provision. I will be forever grateful Father.”

“Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal; but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.” (Matthew 6:19-21, NKJV).

“Therefore I say to you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink; nor about your body, what you will put on.” (Matthew 6:25a).

I have been writing for many years. I really got serious when my 3 kids were still quite young, as they inspired me to write children’s fiction. I now have 21 Amazon publications. Also, I’ve just completed a Bible study course. Now I plan to go hard copy with my books, when I get the funds!