That's Impossible!

I've mentioned before that God comes to me in dreams and visions. Sometimes I 'hear' His message right away, other times it takes a few attempts for my mind to have an 'aha!' moment. Sometimes I just simply hide from the responsibility of being His vessel....


About 2 years ago, I began having a persistent dream. In the dream, God was telling me that it was time to give Him the full tithe at Church. Not only that, but it had to be decided by my husband, Arnaud! All he had to do was commit to 2 months, and if God had not revealed Himself to Arnaud by then, we could stop tithing.

Let me paint a picture of the enormity of the task I had just been asked to do.....



It had taken me nearly 5 years to convince my husband to give even a slight portion of our income to the Church, as he held onto some pretty strong views regarding Churches and their spending habits. Each year, as Arnaud would get his raise at work, I would increase our giving by the same percentage. I was careful not to make too big a deal about the amount, as I knew his issues were deep.



I actually laughed in my sleep at the thought of bringing this up with my husband. I was sure he'd look at me like I had 3 heads. So I ignored the message. I convinced myself that it was just my deep yearning to please God, and my mind was playing tricks on me again.

The next night, God came to me with the same message. I told myself it was impossible to think this could be from God....I mean, He knows my husband too, right?

For two weeks God pursued me in dreams. After that amount of time, with little to no sleep because the message was getting more urgent, I finally broke to God's Will and spoke with my husband. I said word for word the message and waited for a response......

"Uh, I'll think about it." Okay then. That night I had the deepest, most restful sleep I could remember.

A week later, Arnaud still hadn't given a definitive answer to God's message. I had almost forgotten about it, but God is an excellent reminder of His plans. I began to lose sleep again, with a new message: Arnaud now had to give his answer by that Saturday...which gave him about a week to decide.

On Wednesday of that week, my husband and I discovered we were pregnant again. In normal circumstances, this news would bring great joy and celebration. Instead, it brought fear and confusion.



You see, after our fourth child was born (a year prior), my doctor told me that having another child would be very dangerous. So, I gave permission for the doctor to tie my fallopian tubes during the c-section. Although I couldn't be sure that what I was doing was God's direction, I did know that He would forgive me for lacking faith in that moment.

Thus, the fear that we both felt with this new impossible situation. I was also experiencing some pain in one of my sides, and feared an ectopic pregnancy. That night, The Lord came to me in a dream and told me that this child would be a catalyst for great things that were to come. I had peace in my heart again.

On Friday, we learned that baby was growing inside the uterus! The odds of this happening were very low, and we were all in awe of God's power in this miracle.

Saturday came.....and Arnaud had not given an answer. I was completely absorbed with planing for another precious baby, and 'the message' was far from my mind. That day, while in the care of my husband, our youngest daughter fell down the stairs and broke her arm. It was a scary time for all of us, but she was okay aside from her arm.

As we prepared to go to Church that Sunday morning, I went to write our check for the Tithe. I turned to Arnaud and asked if he had decided the amount yet......

"Let's do the whole Tithe. Two months, right?"

I was shocked! I didn't question it, but there was no way my husband could have just decided to give more money--it was impossible! I wrote the check for 10% and off we went.

We lost the baby at 7 weeks along. We both were devastated, but I hung to the promise of the message I had received, that 'he would be a catalyst for great things.'

A week later, Arnaud received a promotion that was not foreseeable or possible 2 weeks earlier. The stresses at work eased, and he began being praised for his efforts there.

The 2 month mark arrived, and I sat Arnaud down for a talk. I let him know he had fulfilled the obligation of 2 months (which was part of the message), and did he want to go back to what we were giving before?

"Sarah, when you first shared the dream with me, I thought you had finally lost it. I put it out of my mind. When you reminded me and gave me a deadline, I was annoyed, and avoided it. Then you got pregnant....I was scared and saw God's power to do the impossible. When Kalyna broke her arm, I knew that God was upset with me for not answering him. That's why I agreed to the whole Tithe. I didn't want to know what God's next step was! After we started Tithing, I have seen God in the blessings that have followed. I don't want to go back to doubting."

I had prayed for years that my husband would come to know The Lord in a personal way....and in that moment, The Lord revealed that He had heard my pleas, and answered them! God takes the impossible and makes it possible!

It will take my whole lifetime to grow into the servant that The Lord has called me to be, and as I attempt to lean more on my Faith (and less on my own understandings), I am also learning to listen to His voice.

My husband and I both continue on our journey of faith with the knowledge that God is right here beside us the whole way.