Caroline’s testimony of provision in lockdown: God is good! (Ros' Blog)

Caroline Emberson is one of our Roofbreakers. In this blog, she tells us how God has provided for her family’s needs during the months of the pandemic. 

I have multiple sclerosis and use the wheelchair as a crutch when I am out and about. In all of this I have learned again that actually, God is my crutch and I can lean on Him. In a time where the world says you should be struggling, God says “Just ask, and I will give”.  

Would any of you who are fathers give your son a stone when he asks for bread? Or would you give him a snake when he asks for a fish? As bad as you are, you know how to give good things to your children. How much more, then, will your Father in heaven give good things to those who ask him. (Mt. 7:9-11)  

Years ago, I was worrying about my son Dylan working. But God gave him a job. And even in this hard time his job was safe. On the other hand, I never worried about my husband Steve working because his job seemed safe. Then, all of a sudden, the company started to take stuff from the yard where Steve worked, and we knew they were trying to leave the yard without saying anything. With only 2 day’s notice, Steve was told that he was no longer required and he was made hourless. Being on a zero hour contract, that left him in no-man’s land because he was officially still employed and so could not look for another job. This sent me into a panic. But God knew there was a solution. I didn’t. 

Now, nine years ago, when Steve was last made redundant, we ran into a fair bit of marital distress. In fact, I nearly left home, but we had arranged for the shower and stairs to be adapted in our house and it would not have been provided for me if I had left then. So, when facing redundancy again this time, it scared me because I was afraid of a repeat of our marital issues. However, while we did have some minor arguments, my fears have been solved and if anything, we are closer than before and closer to God. 

Even before lockdown, I decided not to renew my Motability car because I like my model and they stopped making it. Actually, I believe God told me that I didn’t need a new car at that time. As lockdown progressed it turned out that I was refunded some money from Motability because I had not renewed my car and it wasn’t driven much. This helped a lot when Steve was made redundant (or no hours on his contract). 

In this time, I attended more prayer meetings than I have in a long time, but I felt I came closer to God. Also, at prayer meetings, Steve, who doesn’t normally come to church with me, has sometimes popped his head in, said hello and told people what is going on, which is something I have wanted for a long time but I decided it was God’s timing, not mine – because I could push it further away. In this time also, Steve and I have had more conversations about church than we have had in a long time. 

We nearly cancelled our holiday because we thought we wouldn’t have any spending money, but at the time the “Eat Out” program came in and Warner’s joined into that scheme, which meant that when we did go on holidays we didn’t spend half as much as we had planned. 

In normal times we would not have been eligible to take a mortgage holiday, but because of the virus the government allowed us to have a mortgage holiday. God made sure that there was provision. In 32 years, we have never missed a mortgage payment (we have had mortgage holidays before but never had to miss a regular payment). When money has been tight, God has put money in. We received some financial gifts from people too and what we have been gifted has been more than what we have needed. God knows how hard I find it to ask for help, especially financial, and I haven’t had to. The world says our finances should be in dire straits, but God said, “I am going to feed you.” My food cupboards and my freezer are so full, they are overflowing almost. In fact, when my old freezer died, the catalogue had a “buy now, pay later” for the same price as Curry’s at zero interest. This meant that I could get a new freezer and I lost no food and I can pay for it when my pension comes in around July. 

After three months of no work hours, God sorted out our finances and sorted out a new job, which Steve has now started. God had provision for a job for Steve which should suit us even better, which came in after he got his official redundancy notice, so he would not lose any of his redundancy money (hopefully).  Now Steve has a job he feels appreciated in and is enjoying. Also, he was given a permanent contract one month before the trial period was due to finish. 

We are delighted that in spite of all that has happened, every need has been met and we thank God for it!