Tuesday morning my husband will be walking out the door to leave for work for the first time in almost two years! Praise Jesus. I think we are still in shock of the news that brings us to our knees in praise.When he was laid off from his last job no one realized just how bad it would be. He is usually laid off a small time each year, but this time it turned out to be permanent. Losing your job a horrific blow to a man. My husband is not one to just sit. He is always working on something, and for almost two years now he has been working at finding a job. But while doing so he heard a lot of No's. He heard, "We are not hiring", "You are over qualified", and "Come back in about six months or so." He heard everything under the sun. But through all those No's, we knew God had a yes somewhere.
I must be honest and say these two years have been very difficult, almost devastating to our family. At times it brought us closer together, and others, the stress just about broke us. You find bills piled on the counter, still unpaid, you see your hopes of that day washed away, and you begin to wonder, "Is the Lord really seeing all this?"
He saw, He provided, He was right here with us every step of the way. Without our faith, I am not sure what would have happened. You find you no longer shop for those wants, you are just trying to meet each need. We didn't have those things we wanted, but God provided our needs. Each night at dinner there wasn't always food on the table, but we managed. We didn't always get to go to the doctor when needed, but God healed. Those nights out? We forgot what those were all about. No one really knows how bad it is until they too are standing in the kitchen trying to figure out how your going to put together a meal.
Praise Jesus for our parents who helped us, who sacrificed for us, and gave always. I praise Jesus for our Pastor, and those friends who reached out to us while we were in such need. It is humbling to know you cannot do it on your own.
Through these hard times we have seen God move in ways we never thought we would see. Just when you didn't think you were going to be able to pay the electric bill, there was a check in the mail that seemed to come from no where.
When my husband couldn't even go out to look for work because there was no gas money to fill the truck, a friend reaches out and steps in to wash us with grace.
When you are at your weakest moments you see God at His strongest. Even when those no answers were coming in, God just kept saying, "Wait, Be Still." Being still is not easy, but the Lord showed His power and might through our being still. This job came out of no where, and this job, it is better than the one he held before. Better pay, better benefits, and he is home everyday! God hears each prayer we lift up to Him. I learned and am still learning, everything is in His time, in His way, and with His purpose. I have watched my husband grow into a man who knows His Savior on a new level. His faith increased and I couldn't be more proud of him. Not proud that job finally came, but proud of him never giving up, never throwing in the towel when thing got hard. He could have easily, and I know there were days he wanted to. I could see the pain in his eyes, in his walk, but praise Jesus, He brought him through and set him on a new course.
I didn't just pray for a job. I prayed for a better job. I prayed for better benefits. I prayed for a job he would be home every night, and one that he loved going to each day. The Lord didn't just answer one prayer, He answered all of them! He is a God of wonder. He is a God of promise and hope. Hope is what kept us going. Belief in Christ is what moved us forward on those days we just wanted to stop.
We have had much, and now we have had very little. But through all we have found blessing upon blessing. The Lord sends those encouraging friends into your life to lift you up. He sends those who asked, "Do you need anything?" Just having a friend pray for us blessed us.
It's not about what we don't have, but finding the blessings in what we do have.
I have been praying for the day my husband sets his alarm, wakes early, and stands at the door kissing me good bye for the day. I have prayed for this for so long now, and I just thank Jesus with everything I have for seeing us through this hard time, and chasing away all fear and filling us with His hope. He now has that sparkle in his eye that was missing. He has a giddy up in his step this morning, and a smile that would light the world.
For this wife, I am grateful, so full of praise, and joy is streaming over this girl's cup today. I knew this day was coming. I knew the Lord had not forgotten His children. He had that perfect job just waiting. He knew exactly where my husband needed to be, and He placed him there.
My husband was hired at another job a while back. My husband thought it was the job he was to take, it was a job right? But while working here, he found the lies before him, and found his boss wanting him to lie also. Although others didn't understand, I was proud when my husband stood and walked out that door of that job. I was proud he stood his ground for his morals and values that others didn't seem to hold. And I know the Lord held that job for my husband and blessed him for standing for the truth. If we will not stand for the truth, what else is there to say? The Lord blesses those who follow Him and stand for the truth.
So today as I sit before you smiling from ear to ear, I say, "Thank You Jesus!!" With my hands held high today I can shout praises to You. I can stand before others can give testimony of how You carried us through a difficult time, and it was all You who brought us through and lifted us up through the miry clay.
If you are still standing in that unemployment line, the Lord is there with you. He will supply your needs. He will meet you where you are. He will bless you with that perfect job in His time. Although waiting is hard, struggle is heartbreaking at times, the Lord will see you through and in there are blessings to be held. You find them in the most unexpected places. There is light in the darkness around you. There is hope in the darkest of times. The Lord never gave up on us, and He is still with us, showing us just who He is.
This trial will not be the last to come. There will be more to face, but just as with all the others, and this one now included He never left us nor did He forsake us. He stood firm, and held us through each hard day. He opened our eyes clearly to see those blessings around us, and they had nothing to do with with what we didn't have, but all to do with what we did, and that was our loving Savior, Jesus Christ.
Psalm 100:4-5 "Enter His gates with thanksgiving and His courts with praise; give thanks to Him and praise His name. For the Lord is good and His love endures forever; His faithfulness continues through all generations."
Psalm 46:10 "Be still and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth."
Psalm 46:1 "God is our refuge and strength, an ever-present help in trouble."
Hebrews 11:6 "And without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to Him must believe that He exists and that He rewards those who earnestly seek Him."
