A Season of Scarcity
Warning, the following story is not to fish for sympathy or donations. It is to walk you through something we all go through. Seasons of scarcity. Sometimes they come about very suddenly. One day you think you are afloat and then suddenly a series of events comes into motion. Before you know it you feel like you are one of Stephen King’s working class characters and you wonder if the ending of this one is going to be a happy one.
For some time now, God has been speaking to me and Isabel about simplicity. The journey has been wonderful for the most part. Getting rid of clothes we don’t wear enough, even the “good” ones, shopping around for good deals and embracing things that cost less or saves money like cycling brought about many good things. I am now a fairly regular cycle commuter and find my mental clarity and focus much better when I cycle to work. Recently we managed to cut our grocery budget in half with the flash food option at Superstore that allows you to buy food about to expire at a fraction of the cost. It does not only save money but helps fight food wastage which is a huge problem in Canada. Also, it makes meals more interesting, you never quite know what is going to be flushed out next!
An elephant in the room remained our car. About a year after arriving in Canada, three years ago, Isabel started earning and we had more financial breathing space. In South Africa as an Afrikaner I blindly bought into the cult of the idol car. I think South Africans and Afrikaners in particular overspend on cars more than they would like to admit. In Canada interest rates to buy a car were so much better that my resistance crumbled. In Two years time I bought a VW and a Toyota Rav4 new. To say I bought it is a lie. I financed it. Both were great cars and in Fort McMurray we had a need for good reliable cars, so in my mind I justified the expenses. When we moved to B.C., the insurance went way up and I felt the purchase more financially. When COVID struck, I decided to sell our Jetta, just to be safe. It is quite a thing to do that when you still owe money on a car. It makes you realize how cars depreciate and what a non-investment they actually are. But we pulled through and got along comfortably for six months with just the RAV and a motorcycle. We taught the kids to take busses to their activities and saw to our delight how it gave them a sense of pride and independence.
Because I love cars, I scroll the marketplaces on social media often. Once a gain I saw how car values plummet over time. Maybe we should do the same with the RAV…pay off the remaining debt and buy a cheap car, we thought. So just last week, I bought a very cheap car that would serve well as a second car, one which will enable us to come by, should the RAV sell fast. So I dug into my savings and took the plunge on what still seems like a virtuous journey. I drive school busses before work so, I felt like I could afford it even though some money will have to be spend on the car.
And then it happened. Our furnace broke. This morning someone came out. 2000 Cad to replace two parts. I am quite a networker and would have shopped and phoned around, but I am still new to Surrey and know very little about furnaces. The repairman informed me that our furnace is 20 years old and should be replaced. New models would cut our gas bill in half and are currently offered with a 800 Cad rebate. It would cost us 5000 CAD. Ouch! This morning when I got home to attend to the repairman, I patted my dog on his head like any good person would do. I gave a howl of pain. He had a small lump on his head that we noticed and the vet told us would go away. After I showed the repairman around, I noticed that this lump has grown substantially and is sensitive to touch. The lump has “expensive” written all over it.
What should I do? Wait and see how long the old, repaired furnace will last and hold off on a cost saving investment of a new one? Pray my dog’s lump away or get it checked out straight away? Sell my newly bought car or sell my beloved motorcycle? Get a loan? Sell the RAV straight away? This all comes at such a bad time! Isabel lost six weeks worth of income due to us being in COVID isolation. “What would Jesus do?”, I wondered out loud as I made sums in my head. The only answer I got was: “probably not spend so much in the first place!”. Still determining if that was the Holy Spirit or a demon teasing me 😊.
There is a pastor in South Africa. He was classmate of mine. He is a black, Sotho man. Because of COVID-19 and the fact that he serves the poorest of the poor his meagre salary got cut in half this year. His workload is probably three times mine. Ever since I have been sending him money to help. I haven’t yet sent him anything this month. Immediately, before temptation set in, I took out my phone and sent him his money for this month. No. God will not now suddenly “bless” me with a winning lotto ticket or a furnace elf. No, I am not suffering. Come with me to a township in South Africa if you disagree and want to see suffering. I am in a season of scarcity, something every human being experience and something most human being get through stronger on the other side. Especially those who trust that God will not forsake them in it.
My prayer is not for a miracle or help. It is that I will be formed in a person that glorifies God more with his resources, the way I remain hopeful and giving in a season of scarcity and with how I apply the lessons from this season in future seasons of abundance, should there be any.
I don’t think there is one person who, through his or her own mistakes or circumstances beyond his/her control, does not experience seasons of scarcity. God wouldn’t allow it, if He couldn’t make them work for our best in the long run.
It is well with my soul!
Gabriel J Snyman
January 18, 2021