He will sustain you

This post has been a long time coming.

In fact, this post marks the end of something, and the beginning of something new in the life of my family.  And while I could call it the end of a dark season... I don't know that that is really the case.

In mid-July, I wrote this post, about the rug being pulled out from under us. Our family, through God-ordained circumstances, found ourselves without a family income.  It was not all-together unexpected, but, it was quite a bit out of our control.
Isn't everything?

On Monday, all of the pieces -that God has been orchestrating- fell into place.  We will no longer be without an income, and we will fall back into what the world might call: "secure."

Funny thing is, we never really felt insecure. When I said that the rug was pulled out from under us, but beneath it was our Rock... they were not just words to me. I experienced and felt the stability, peace and security that comes from an Unchanging God. But, it came as a surprise to me... how good it felt to rest in Him.

Now, I would not be telling you the truth if I said I did not experience fear, or doubt, or plain-old worry about the uncertainty that faced our family. From July until now, our family had emotional ups and downs. Serious concerns. Emotional wrestling. What-ifs about huge decisions.
Decisions like moving. giving up homeschooling. mommy getting a household-sustaining job. selling our dream home. finding alternate means of income. eliminating any spending. giving up Christmas gifting.
And then there was the up-and-down drama and nail-biting that comes with supporting your husband through the interview processes, acceptances and rejections.

But as we weathered through this brief season, (and praise His Name, it was brief), God was there for us. Oh, I know that sounds so dull and trite... but here me... God was THERE for us. He was not up in the clouds playing some harp somewhere, or managing lives that were more important than ours. No. He was there in practical ways. and, He was there to listen to my whining and ranting and stiff-necked-ness.... as He always is, to His Glorious credit. He is so Merciful.

See what great things He has done:

It was God who moved my wonderful, godly husband (who has a work-ethic the likes of which this country was built on) into a place where he could barely endure his job.
It was God who, ultimately, freed my husband from a job that was poisonous.
It was God who planted the seed for my husband's current job at Company A.
It was God who arranged for three unrelated friends of ours to connect us to the owners of this company... all within the same week.
It was God who prepared our hearts for an unexpected opportunity.
It was God who taught us how to do more with less.
It was God who used this situation to soften my heart toward his gentle instruction to me.
It was God who planted in me His Word, so that I was never consumed by worry.
It was God who blessed us with underserved and unexpected gifts like these. Just for fun.
It was God who used His children, to reach out to us, pray for us, bring us food from their gardens, hand-me-downs, Christmas gift cards for the boys, balloons, flowers, and Hope.
It was God who used His children to give me five different books to encourage me in my Walk.
It was God who used His children to connect us with any and every friend they had in my husband's field of work.
It was God who used our families to help us meet financial needs.
It was God who made it frustratingly impossible for me to find a simple Christmas-temporary job. He knew the timing.
It was God who greatly blessed us with provision, by allowing us to come to know Him as Provider.
It was God who opened our minds up to think outside the box we had made for ourselves.
It was God, who heard me cry out this prayer, and answered me that VERY minute with a phone call and an offer.
It was God who answered our prayers... not just the ones of Provision, but the ones about Discernment and Clarity and His will.
It was God whose timing is so perfect that our job offer came the very day after our monetary stability ran out. The very day, people.

"Cast your cares on the Lord. He will sustain you. He will never let the righteous fall." -Psalm 55:22