ABIDE. REMAIN. STAY.: A Year Ago Today

A year ago if you asked me what my greatest pressing fear was I would have said, "being homeless." Well it happened. My man secured work over and over and for 4 months straight and everything fell through for crazy unexplainable reasons. We were renting a home that we were thankful for but didn't like very much. We made the most of it but as I was painting more we were really out growing it. It came time to tell our Land Lord we just can't pay rent we need to move out. So Paul did but we didn't have any place to move in to. I FELT like it was over. Our life was ruined. We did our best to present it as an adventure to our 6, 4 and 2 year olds.

Praise God in conversation now they loved that time and have only wonderful memories of it other that eating to much McDonald's. A year ago last week we pack everything we owned and put it in storage not knowing when or where we would get to unpack it. We worked tirelessly to leave the that house clean and repaired. We had help and great encouragement from friends and family. I can not convey the emotional and physical done-ness we experienced. Oh, did I mention our entire family had whooping cough? We did. The kids and I stayed in a friends basement and Paul and Duke our dog slept in Paul's truck. I remember crying and telling my Father in Love, "God is letting our life fall apart!" He softly responded, "No, God is allowing your life to be rearranged." Wise and true words that geared my thinking back to trusting God even though I could not see the purpose in all of it.

first time I saw our current house which we hope to buy one day!

A couple days into our unknown season Paul was driving down the street and saw a for rent sign a mile up the road from his parents. He asked me to check it out. I did but knew it was out of the price range of the factory job Paul had secured through and old neighbor as we told them why we were moving. I had a very real conversation about where we were at with the man renting this beautiful home that I never thought would be an option for us. To my surprise the he said, "I have 30 applicants for this house already and I want you to rent it." He loves the Lord is long time friends with our last Land Lord and felt like the Spirit said this is your family! What!? The plan was that Paul would get a second job and we just wouldn't see him. We got into the house and for 4 months that is what we did. We had to trust God with Paul's calling to be fireman which seems totally confusing with the given circumstances and just pressed on. We had to accept that this might be what God has for us and are we still going to be thankful for what we don't want because it is provision and God is still good and in love with us. Those 4 months were so very hard and wonderful at the same time. We grew like no other time in our marriage and parenting. We also screwed up of course but I wouldn't trade what we went through for money. God worked in us a dependence on Him alone. And we KNOW that the testing of our faith does indeed produce STEADFASTNESS!
So a year ago today is when we signed papers and got into the nicest most perfect home for our needs. June of last year God gave Paul that full-time job as a fire fighter. So much has happened this year and we in a state of profound thankfulness as we look back. God has been so good to us even in what felt at the time to be abandonment. He truly was just rearranging our life. Just wanted to share.