The Day God Gave Us a Jar of Salsa

Through our years here at home, we have had some very “lean” times. Money was short, and we had no choice but to wait on God to provide for us.  Now, don’t get me wrong…. we love looking to God for our every need.  There is none other greater to come and care for us. We love when the Lord works in our lives and when our daughters get to see it firsthand right along with us. That is what happened here in this story that I am going to share.

It was years ago, and I wasn’t working. My husband was working full-time for the state at the local college and had been since high school. The benefits were great but the pay was low. So, he would work jobs on the side for other people. Some were friends, some were from the college and a lot were from just “word of mouth” with people passing his name and number around. This story is about one of those jobs where they didn’t really know him or anything about us/home.

We could pay the bills and buy groceries. There were times that we had to stick to the budget so close that I often would put items back on the shelf just to make sure I didn’t overspend. But we never went without or wondered where our next meal would come from. God was faithful and sure. He always provided just what we needed and at the time when we needed it.

My husband was working one day after his regular job and I let him know that I almost had everything to make supper, but I needed to go to the store for a couple of items. We were going to have tacos for the meal. He said that was fine but to only spend what I had to because he wasn’t sure what he would get paid from this job. So, I load up our 3 daughters to go to the local grocery store in our town. We were getting what we needed and then they asked about getting a jar of salsa to go with the chips that we had at home. I reached for the jar on the shelf and thought….it is only a couple of dollars… it won’t hurt. But then…. the still quiet voice that lives inside of me…. the God almighty Himself through the Holy Spirit, pricked my heart as I was placing the jar of salsa in the basket.  I picked it back up and told my girls to remember what their dad had asked us….” Only spend what we really needed” …. All 3 girls looked up and told me.” Mom…we really don’t have to have the salsa. We have chips and that will be enough”.  I was so thankful that my girls understood or at least acted like they did, and no one got upset about not buying the salsa.

We checked out and headed home. No one said anything else about it. Supper was ready when my husband got home, and he came in carrying a bag of groceries.  I smiled and told him that was okay if they paid him with groceries instead of money. I was sure it would be enough and work out. He said, “No…they paid me very well AND gave me this bag of groceries!” They said they couldn’t explain it, but they felt they needed to give us some of their pantry items that they had there.

We started taking items out of the bag. It was like Christmas morning. The girls would scream out about each item….” Oh, that is exactly the one we like!” Or “Daddy, that is the one you love!”.  I had never seen girls so excited about unloading a bag of groceries……. And then….my husband took the last item out of bag…… It was a jar of SALSA!!!!! I had tears running down my face.  I couldn’t believe it. I didn’t have a chance to tell my husband about our trip to the store. He didn’t know what had happened. The girls were crying and shouting at the same time!!! My husband started laughing and asking us what in the world was going on….

The girls yelled out… “God gave us a jar of salsa!”

Even though the girls were young they had watched God work in our lives.  Always providing for us…always loving us…. always protecting us…. And today, they saw for themselves the love that the Lord had for them…young little girls who thought they were just being obedient to their parents about not whining for the jar of salsa at that store…. they saw and felt the love of God in each of their own life. That God hears them and sees them…. He cares for them even in the small things.

God gave us a jar of salsa, but He really gave us so much more….