Guys, I need to talk to you about Jonas for a second. Here is one example of what I really love about Jonas.
Last Wednesday, Jonas lost his job. Now, we've been here before (the 22 months of unemployment between Layla and Finn, for example, and the many other *gaps* in between contract jobs ending and starting, etc.). While we wish this didn't happen, this is not life shattering and earth-moving. We have been here enough times to now rest a bit easier that God HAS always provided for us, and he will always be with us, no matter what might happen financially in our lives.
So, losing the job was not fun, but Jonas set to work diligently looking for a new job. 2 days after he lost his job he comes home to tell me a little story. (Keep in mind: my type-A, practical mindset automatically goes into "financial lock down" mode when we enter these times in life, right? I can be talked out of it with a really good argument, but it's not where my starting point is for sure). As Jonas was driving to do some errands that day he sees a guy on the side of the road, a guy see regularly trying to hitch-hike from around our house, heading north. This day, Jonas stopped and picked him up. He chatted with him and drove him 45 minutes north, out of his way for sure, so he could quickly make a bus in order to see his mother in a nursing home in Fargo. Jonas bought him a meal, and then bought his bus ticket for him. As he was telling me this story, you could see how happy Jonas was by how this all went. There was a tangible need, and he was able to fill it.
I can't tell you how much I love that this response ("How can I give? What is needed of me?") is the FIRST response Jonas has, even in the midst of unknown and financial stress for us. It's so good for me, because while it's not often my initial response, I can get behind it so quickly when I see these actions done in real faith and joy. This was not a chore for Jonas. This was not a pain, something he made himself do because he still "needed" to act in faith. Nope. This was just Jonas doing life, being generous, putting first what mattered most. This made him happy to do.
I was listening to a podcast by Timothy Keller today called "Generosity in Scarcity" and I was *yes-ing* and *amen-ing* all over that sermon as I was driving alone in the car. Take a listen, if you like. I think it was about 10 minutes in before I started getting vocal...haha.
http://www.gospelinlife.com/generosity-in-scarcity-6023
This podcast brought back to mind the story above, so I wanted to share it, along with one other one.
At this last job, 2X a year, Jonas had a month where he got an extra paycheck. (At least, that's how things worked at his recently-ended job...but we only made it to one of those extra paycheck months). Now, that's a big deal, right? That's a lot of money! There are a lot of ways we could throw that money right back into us, and our lives (vacations, stuff we want, paying down our mortgage maybe...so many options), and even pat ourselves on the back for being financially smart in doing so. This spring, right before he got that extra paycheck, a call was put out in our church for a friend there who had lost his job due to serious back injuries, and disability would not kick in soon enough to stop mortgage problems. So, to be clear...these friends might have lost their home due to no fault of their own, and we were working with extra cash. There was no question as to what would happen. Jonas signed over the entire amount to this friend, gladly, willingly...so thankful that God was able to use us to provide in that way.
As a wife, I can not TELL you how happy this makes me. Jonas and I have different thoughts on many other topics in life, but being united on this one is endlessly helpful and reassuring to me. I'm so grateful for a husband who does not think he is the ruler of his own life. He does not think all of his money and all of his stuff and all of his time belong to HIM. He knows where his gifts, talents, and health came from, and no matter how hard he works for what he *earns*, he still sees all of life as the true gift it is from God. Guys!!! This is PRICELESS! Jonas is not about amassing as much wealth for himself as he can, doing all the fun entertaining stuff with *his* money in life, and then dying with it all still safely protected away from the undeserving people who might take it from him. No, Ma'am. Not our life goals, thank God!
So, shout-out to my impressively generous, unemployed husband! I'm not worried about the future right now. I know what God has promised to those who are generous. The best part about this most recent story, to me, is that Jonas gave out of scarcity, and that he delighted in doing so. This was not all of the extra, leftover, that he decided he could give and still maintain whatever lifestyle he wanted to live. Nope, this was a first-fruits action, given out of scarcity. Those are the best.
I'm so glad to be married to this guy. :)
