God uses everything for His purpose

“Give, and it will be given to you. Good measure, pressed down, shaken together, running over, will be put into your lap. For with the measure you use it will be measured back to you.” (Luke 6:38)

I drove from GA to VA Beach three weeks ago with three kitties in tow to bring our fur baby, Bo, to David. Bo hadn’t been doing well due to his age and kidney disease. In the two weeks prior, Bo had almost stopped eating and was getting weaker every day. I knew I had to get him to David while I could, as Bo has been David’s near-constant companion and travel co-pilot for over 12 years.

Since my arrival in VA Beach and our steady administration of thrice weekly subcutaneous fluids, our Heavenly Father heard our prayers for more time with our beloved fur baby. Bo has since made a remarkable turnaround and is now thriving again. Every day is a gift. That’s blessing number one. 

A week after I arrived, David told me he wanted to give away his old refrigerator. He had bought a new stainless steel fridge to match his upgraded kitchen, but his old one was still working perfectly, and we didn’t want to trash it. 

“I’ll post it on ‘Everything’s free in VA Beach’ on Facebook and maybe we can get it to someone who needs it,” I suggested. David and his friend Jason pushed the fridge to the driveway’s edge. I took pictures and posted the notice. 

An hour later, David informed me that he had saved the appliance from someone who stopped by to take it for scrap. “I told the man I was glad someone could use it,” David said, “That’s when he told me he was going to scrap it. I told him that it worked, and we wanted it to go to someone who needed it.”

“I’m so glad,” I said. “Hopefully, someone will respond to my ad soon.” 

A pop-up message on my phone a few hours later advised me that our prayers had been answered. “I need this,” were the simple words I received in response to my ad. I was ecstatic. That was blessing number two – finding someone who would greatly benefit from what God allowed us to give.

I replied to the respondent, Tiffany, that the fridge was still available, and we were happy it would go to a good home. Tiffany confirmed that it would, as her refrigerator wasn’t keeping things cold. After professing my joy with this news, I asked if she could pick up the appliance that evening or the next day, Thursday. 

Tiffany responded that she could get it on Friday after renting a U-Haul. I told her I’d need to check with my husband about keeping it another day, as I knew David was ready for it to be gone. 

My next thought was that we have a trailer; we could deliver it to her. I hesitated to ask David as I knew this was a huge request. Instead, I determined to explain the situation to David to see how he’d respond, unprompted. 

When David returned from the store, I shared the good news of our recipient – then informed him that we’d have to keep it until Friday since Tiffany couldn’t get a U-Haul until then. 

David looked at me without flinching and said, “I can take it to her.” 

“Are you sure?” I asked. “Will you be able to put it on your trailer upright? It won’t be too heavy?” 

“Yes. I’m sure,” David replied. “I’ll strap it in. It’ll be fine.” 

“What about your back?” I asked. “I don’t want you to hurt yourself doing this.” 

“Ask her if she can get someone to help,” David replied. “Let’s do it!” 

That’s when I told David I’d been thinking the same thing. I wanted to ensure he felt good about providing this extra service without suggesting it. With his immediate response, I knew it was the right thing to do —David’s validation of my thoughts was blessing number three.

I then contacted Tiffany to let her know that we could bring the fridge to her if she’d provided us with her address. 

“Omg, are you serious?” asked Tiffany. “Yes, I have someone. You both are such a blessing.🙌” 

“I am totally serious,” I replied. “It would be our privilege to help you, Tiffany. 🙏” 

“If you give us your address and a good time to bring it, we’ll get it there,” I continued. “It will be a gift from God through us to you.”

After providing her address, Tiffany shared, “My kids gonna be in school. They gonna be surprised tomorrow.” 

“HOORAY! Christmas in August!” I replied, “I love it!!

“Awesome. Now I don’t have to freeze their milk for cereal anymore,” Tiffany shared. “I’m so happy! 😀” 

After telling Tiffany how pleased her news made me, we coordinated a time to bring the fridge to its new home. I also asked if she had someone who could help if we needed it.

“Yes, that [time] will work,” Tiffany replied. “I have my nephew here. He will get it. You and your husband have blessed my family, and I will be forever grateful for you two. 💙”

“Amen,” I replied. “God blesses us every day, so we are just doing what we can to share those blessings with you and any others that we can. We’ll see you in the morning!!!” 

The next day, and a few texts later, I’d cleaned up David’s old microwave as Tiffany confirmed that she could use it also. In the meantime, David pulled his trailer around and called me outside to help. 

After attempting to push and pull the fridge directly onto the trailer, we knew we needed a different system to load it. David found two long boards in his backyard and screwed them into the wood. 

Just as I attempted to push and David pull the fridge up, a truck drove by, pulled over, and a Good Samaritan jumped out to help. David saw him first and told me to stop. After trotting back to help me push, we had the fridge on the trailer ready to strap down. 

Better than strapping it alone, David fashioned an ingenious board system around the appliance that he screwed down to keep the fridge from moving. With the straps and boards in place, I snapped photos and told Tiffany we were on our way.

Upon arrival in downtown Norfolk, we were met by Tiffany’s nephew, who helped us get the fridge off the trailer and up the steps to their home. After sharing hugs and gratitude, I told Tiffany how God had brought David and me together in FL after Hurricane Ian. 

“We both long to share God’s blessings with others. Now, we’re able to do so together. I hope every time you look at this fridge, you remember that God loves you. Tell your children that, too. You are so important! Never forget that.”

“I won’t,” Tiffany confirmed. 

As David and I drove away, I was struck by the fact that however much we give and no matter what we do, we can never outgive God. Our cups are overflowing with God’s mercies every single day. David and I recount our blessings every time we pray. We have each other, first and foremost, which will always be the uttermost tangible gift either of us has ever received from our Heavenly Father. Love is an infinite, unquantifiable godsend for which we will never stop thanking our Creator.

Additionally, we have our health, home, and David’s VA Beach house, which we get closer to completing every day. We also have food in our refrigerator and clothes on our backs, and we are safe. We are blessed with everything we need, and God has allowed us to share what we have with others.

We also, miraculously, have our sweet Bo-man for a little longer, as God has seen fit to restore him to near-perfect health and surprising vigor since I arrived in VA Beach. We are so grateful for every extra day with him – especially the good days we’ve experienced lately.

Even more so, in giving of ourselves and our abundance, we can share God’s blessings with others. While my interaction with Tiffany was brief, I hope and pray that the words shared and the household appliances gifted will serve as tangible evidence of our Heavenly Father’s goodness, grace, and generosity in her life. Although we’ll never know if anything we did impacted her in any way, our Creator does, and that’s all that matters.

God can use anything and everything for His purpose – even a refrigerator – to reach the lives of those who might never have heard His name or seen Him in any other way. We never know what our Creator will need us to give, what He will ask us to say, or who He wants us to tell it to. All we can do is give, speak, and pray that God will use it all for His divine purpose.

Everything we have is His anyway. All we’re doing is giving back as He directs us.