How the Lord Used a Box of Plastic Wrap to Show Me His Provsion

How the Lord Used a Box of Plastic Wrap to Show Me His Provision

This tattered old box has significant meaning in my life.  I purchased this around 2013.  My late husband and I raised and trained horses, and there was a large open area on one side of the stables.  A few family members and friends began using the space for parties and events, and suddenly Absher Farm became an event center, particularly for weddings. We offered a full-service center for weddings, including the flowers, photography, videography, and full-menu catering.  Thus, the need for industrial sized plastic wrap and other catering supplies. 

                It wasn’t long after this purchase that my husband developed Guillain Barre after taking a flu shot.  He struggled with the side effects for six months before succumbing to the disease.  I stopped doing weddings, and this plastic wrap ended up at home.  It had been used for a number of weddings and events at that point, and I was using it generously at home; however, the supply never seemed to diminish. 

Being a widow was one of the hardest things that I have ever endured, and I called out to the Lord so many times for His comfort and provision.  Looking at this box of plastic wrap one day, I thought of the story in 1 Kings 17, about the widow whose jar of flour and jar of oil miraculously are replenished until the drought is over.  “Lord,” I thought, “I know you can supply all that I need too.  I am heartbroken, sad, and so very lonely without my husband, yet your love and care for me is never ending.  I want to remember how generously you meet my needs every time that I reach for this plastic wrap.

As the years went by, I had opportunities to share this story with family and friends, and we laughed at how long this box of plastic wrap was lasting.  In 2017, I married my current husband, and he became a new part of the story of God’s provision for my life.  He was amused that I “over-wrapped” every food item and left-over, and yet we didn’t seem to be any closer to running out of plastic wrap.

In July of 2021, I woke up one morning almost totally deaf.  It will be impossible to describe the emotion one feels when you go to bed with normal hearing, and then wake up without hearing the television, your phone ringing, or conversations with others.  It was the second worst thing I had faced as an adult, the first being losing a spouse.  During that time, I once again looked at this tattered box, and prayed for God’s provision to help me get through this.  I was finally diagnosed with an autoimmune inner ear disease that had destroyed the nerves in my ear.  After an emotionally distraught two months, that included two ear surgeries, mega-doses of steroids, and a great audiologist who painstakingly tried multiple hearing aids to find one that would work, I could finally function as a normal human being again.  During that time, I prayed a lot and turned to the scriptures to find words of comfort and peace.  God taught me a lot during that season about being more discerning about the things my ears needed to hear, and I made changes in the movies, television shows, and other voices that might influence me in a negative way.

In the spring of 2023, my eyesight was deteriorating badly from cataracts.  I was delighted to schedule the surgery to get it corrected.  Unfortunately, I was one of the small minority of patients who developed posterior capsular opacification (PCO), where cells remaining after surgery grow on the new lens capsule causing cloudy and blurry vision—on BOTH eyes!  It can be corrected with a quick laser procedure; however, one must wait for six months until the eye has healed from cataract surgery until the procedure can be done.  For six months, my vision was so blurry that I would feel nauseated every morning until I had a little time to adjust to my surroundings.  I didn’t get as bummed out when this tragedy occurred.  I knew I could endure this for a short while, and that old plastic wrap box was there to remind me that God had all I needed to see me through this trial.  As with my hearing loss, I sought the Lord in prayer and His Word (audio Bible), and asked what lessons I was to learn in this trial.   As a result, I became more conscious of the things that God might consider inappropriate for my eyes to be viewing, and committed to more time in His Word when I was blessed with clear vision again.

In October of 2023, a very unexpected thing happened.  I had a heart attack!  My former-paramedic husband very likely saved my life by recognizing the symptoms and rushing me to the hospital.  This life event was more debilitating emotionally for me than it was physically.  I considered myself to be a healthy person, and no one in either side of my family had ever had heart problems.  I hated the diagnosis, and I hated the medicines that I had to take even more.  “Lord, I don’t want this,” I cried out in prayer.  Help me heal, and remind me every day of the gift of good health.”  Once again, I was reminded of God’s generous provision every time I pulled out that tattered box of plastic wrap.  As I started 2025, I was feeling great, taking very few meds, and possible heart issues seemed to be a thing of the past.

The biggest gut-punch I could imagine came the summer of 2025.  After some unusual symptoms occurred, I visited my family doctor.  She did several tests, then a CT scan, then sent me to a urologist.  A cystoscopy revealed the words I never thought I would hear.  Bladder Cancer!  A surgery was scheduled in August, and the urologist told my husband with some confidence that he had removed all of it.  Unfortunately, a second surgery and another biopsy revealed that the cancer was back. Currently I am undergoing weekly treatments in Birmingham.   As a write this, I am preparing to go back to Birmingham tomorrow for another cystoscopy and biopsy to see if the treatment has worked.  I have learned more about trusting God, and depending on His grace and provision that ever before in my life.  He is sovereign and, regardless of the outcome, He is a good and faithful God.  Because Jesus is my Savior, my future is secure, and nothing that happens in this life can change that.

Today, the plastic wrap finally ran out.  It was time.  I don’t need a physical reminder of God’s goodness and provision.  He has demonstrated that over and over throughout my life, and particularly in the past 15 years.  However, I wanted to preserve this moment, and share my testimony with others that may be desperate for love, healing, provision, forgiveness, grace, or other physical, emotional, or spiritual needs.  Our God is able!  Just call on Him.  HE is the source of my confidence and provision.  It is NOT that tattered old box of plastic wrap!