Exceedingly, Abundantly

By Gloria Nesloney

When people think about healing, the first thought is physical healing. However, there were various areas in my life where healing was necessary. I had physical, emotional, and spiritual wounds that were obvious and some that were hidden. Along with some of those wounds came financial wounds. When I needed surgery, when I was depressed, or when I didn’t have hope, each time I was going through an ailment, it depleted me. Financial strain only complicated the issues. I found myself on a slippery slide down to poverty on more than one occasion. It seemed as if every time I was getting back on my feet, I would dig deep into my empty pockets only to find lint fragments. So many days of struggling, I thought it was my destiny to be poor and stay poor since I had grown up in poverty. I worked hard, but I identified with piggy banks that were used for decorations not saving money. I accepted my fate, like sand through the hourglass was money in my hands.

I had just become a Christian in 1995, and tithed for the first time. I was on government financial assistance and paper currency was issued. I remember having the brown one dollar food stamp booklet and I would purchase a small bubble gum pack for twenty-five cents so that in return I could have seventy-five cents change. I did this a couple of times in order to have some cash for toiletries and hygiene products. One day, I put the quarters in the offering plate as a tithe and prayed, “Lord, I know you can multiply this if you want. I don’t know how you are going to do it, but I know your word says you can.” Little did I know the request I was asking was going to open a door for my first part-time employment at a clinic that week. I worked at the clinic for a couple of months and though I saved finances when I could, again I would find myself with no job and no money. I was able to find a part-time job, save for a while, and be broke again. The cycle continued for almost te