Article March 21, 2005 Issue

ABUNDANCE THAT ISN'T A GAMBLE

By Shelly Richardson

I love the saying that "God is in the details." But I remember when my children were small and my husband was in school studying to become a landscape architect. We didn't have any money. And I thought, "Why isn't God in the lottery?"

We lived in married student housing. The atmosphere in the complex was sweet and supportive for our small family. But we were in debt. And our 500-square-foot apartment seemed ridiculously small for two adults and two children. Each year we put our name into the university's housing lottery system and hoped to be chosen for one of the inexpensive houses available for occupancy. Each term a few more of our friends moved into those houses. But we never won.

Months in student housing turned into years. Bit bit, lack of money and small living quarters started to wear on my husband and me. Things looked even bleaker when I learned that the starting salary in our city for people graduating in my husband's field was $7.00 an hour. I can remember one particularly discouraging day, standing in line at the grocery store, thinking seriously about buying a lottery ticket. It seemed at that moment like our only hope. Slowly I moved forward in line and began a mental debate.

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