I have had a hard time being able to purchase hunting equipment because my budget is so tight (I tell ya, George Washington's head is all out of shape when I take a bill out of my wallet because it's been squeezed so hard! :)

Anyway, at my small group meeting a few weeks ago, we were discussing the pastor's sermon from the week before.  It was on "Life at a Crossroads in my finances", and one of the discussion questions was along the lines of "which of the pastor's main points do you struggle with the most?"

When it was my turn, I said I struggled with "reordering my priorities".  Every time we had some extra money coming in, I wanted to buy something hunting related, like a shotgun or a deer rifle (since I had neither).  But there was always something more pressing that the money NEEDED to go for, so I had to put off my purchase (again). 

Well, during our fellowship/snack time, our leader came over to me and asked me for directions to my house, because he had something he wanted to give me.  I told him how to get there, but I worried all night that he might be trying to give us some money because we had been struggling at the time.  I didn't want him to feel obligated to give us something like that.

I was concerned all night, but something occurred to me that I didn't dare hope for.  I just put that out of my mind and waited until he came over the next morning. 

When he arrived, he asked me to come out to his car, and the thing I didn't dare hope for was coming true!  He had a Mossberg 12-gauge shotgun in the back of his car, and he was GIVING it to me!  Not only that, but he also gave me a gun cleaning kit, a folding stool that had a zippered pocket (with 3 boxes of shells in it!), a camo shirt and pants, a camo head cover, and an orange vest.  To top it all off, he gave me a skeet trap and 2 boxes of clays!

I was about to faint!  He told me that he used to go dove hunting, but he had not been in a long time, and the gun had not been used in over 4 years.  He couldn't see keeping it in his basement (finished) gathering dust when someone else could get some use out of it.

I praise God for His goodness and mercy!