I was cleaning off my camera card and came across some pictures from this summer. What sweet, sweet memories these are - especially in the dead of winter!
This was a backyard stay-cation that Mike put together at the spur of the moment.
We had just found out we were expecting. Days later, Mike was given notice that his position at the school district he'd served at for the past 6 years had been terminated (out-sourced) and he was given one month's notice. On top of that, he was being treated VERY unkindly by an administrator at the district.
The day before this stay-cation, our church's youth group left for NYR - an
annual camping trip in the Colorado Rockies that Mike hadn't missed in 20+ years. Even the year
I had Xavier in June, he went. His luggage was already in CO with the early crew. His heart was in the trip. However, this year, he knew God was saying
"stay. Be with your family - do the job hunt, go on interviews, put out
your resume. Just stay."
Satan was trying to take a hold of my husband...it truly could have been one of our darkest times had Mike allowed it to be.
Instead, Mike dove into the Word. He studied it and clung to it. We filled out applications, reviewed resumes, and got him ready to go on job interviews. We prayed - together, separately - and we hung tightly to Jesus.
My husband...he pitched a tent, got out the fire pit, and threw a backyard camp out for his babies so they would never guess that daddy might be hurting. He roasted hot dogs, made s'mores, played t-ball till it was dark and left the canopy off the top of the tent so we could see the stars.
He made a dark moment into a beautiful memory for our family.
And God didn't fail us. Not then and not now. Micheal finished his 1 month at the school district on a Friday and on Monday began a better job as an IT at a college an hour and a half from home. We never went without a paycheck. We got health insurance back (something the kids and I had been without since I quit teaching). Even better, Mike started being treated as a human again and thoroughly enjoys his new position & all the challenges and opportunities for learning that it offers.
As we prepare to move to the town Mike is employed in I've had several people ask me how I can do it. How can I leave my hometown, my family being around the corner, the little house I love?
But truly, it's easy. When I felt God call me to be a stay at home and homeschooling Mama, Mike didn't say "no way." He said "I've got your back and God's got mine - do it." This is my turn to do the same for him. It's no sacrifice really...it's an adventure and I'm blessed to be on it!
Weeping may endure for a night, but joy comes in the morning.
Psalm 30:5
Psalm 30:5
Our joy and excitement at what God has planned for us is abounding! Tonight, on this frigid 9 degree night, I'm thankful for these summer memories and the real story behind them...God's assurance that we can rest in Him and He'll always have our back.
1 comment:
Wow! Ok, so I started out all shallow thinking "Oh green! Beautiful, beautiful green, how I miss green!!" And I wasn't even reading the words, just looking at the pictures.
But then a few words caught my eye and I scrolled back up. So glad you chronicled this journey. How beautiful to have that memory of Mike serving his family instead of wallowing in his own uncertainty. How glorifying to remember you turned to the Word, to the Lord in prayer, separately and together.
You know we've been through similar experience. ("Mike started being treated as a human again and thoroughly enjoys his new position & all the challenges and opportunities for learning that it offers." especially resonates with me, just replace the name Mike with "Alan"). I'm so glad the Lord proved Himself faithful yet again and look forward to seeing how He works in your life in the future!
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