One year and one day ago…

I am actually supposed to be heading up to Oceanside to help my in-laws pack up their house.  Part of this might be an avoidance strategy.  I really don’t want them to go.  I’m excited for God’s new adventure in their life – they are headed to Colorado Springs to help Ted and Gayle Haggard with a Healing and Restoration center at their church.  So needless to say, this is going to be quite interesting!  I just love how the Lord works.  Even if it means He’s taking away Lynn and Rudy for now 🙂  It has been a fun year getting to know them and they have offered some incredible insight and wisdom to our marriage.  They actually did our pre-marital counseling and throughout the first six months of marriage have been there for some late-night emergency calls as well.  We fall into the category of marriage that includes both roses and thorns within the first couple of years (at least months anyway).  And I wouldn’t have it any other way.

February 4th, 2010.  The infamous night at Marshall’s where my mom and I met Lynn and Rudy who would introduce me to Josiah.  Really, if that isn’t the Lord, what is?!  I love that Josiah and I can always go back to our ‘how we met’ story and be thoroughly convinced that our God is sovereign and had that all planned!  Thankfully I listened to that small voice in my head that prompted me to ask if he was single.  I mean that could have come off a little desperate, but there was a split second of thoughts in my head once I heard how tall her son was where I thought, ‘I should ask if he’s single and a Christian – no, that would be ridiculous – but would this then become one of those moments that I always wondered about if I don’t say anything…’ and out popped the questions.  And the answers.  YES AND YES!

It has been an incredible year.  Through my husband, I have grown.  I have been challenged more than I ever have been.  I have been daily encouraged and admired more than I’ve ever felt before (my parents are great, don’t get me wrong, but I’m talking some undivided attention here…and for this words of affirmation girl, I’m all about it!).  Hey, our Heavenly Father desires to be praised and acknowledged for who He is – and we are, after all, created in His image – so I do like to be acknowledge for who I am IN HIM.  🙂  Anyways, I have been incredibly aware this week of how loving, attentive, strong, tender, funny, and hard working my Hubs is.  He is absolutely amazing.  In the little things – leaving notes for me, bringing me flowers (which, by the way, have lasted over a week due to the freezing temperatures of our room), taking out the garbage without being asked, straightening the house, to name a few.  In the big things – comforting me as I cry, praying for me as I wrestle with things, leading me as the head of our home, being diligent and faithful, etc. 

I love being around someone day in and day out (most of the time…when I’m not being a brat).  It is like looking at a mirror.  We get to see how much our choices, decisions, and attitudes affect (effect?  affect?  Ugh – embarrassed to admit I’m an English major and never got that one down…) each other and can also bless each other.  As we desire to represent Christ and the Church, we are made aware of how interrelational we’ve been created.  How much we can bless or tear down.  How easily we can edify or destroy.  We can help heal or hurt.  The constant battle between choosing things that lead to life or death.  We choose life, my friends.  Daily. Hourly.  And, because of that, we have been incredibly blessed despite any circumstances.

I absolutely adore my husband.  He knows this.  But I thought I’d let all of you in on the little secret as well…in case you were wondering!

Provision

A few years ago, while I was in HSE, it was time to make my final payment of the second semester.  I was about $80 short and not sure where that money was going to come from.  THAT DAY, I received a check in the mail from a friend for $83.75 – the Lord had laid it on her heart to mail it to me for tuition.  What a random number for Him to give her, what an incredible God that we serve that would provide for us in such simple yet incredible ways.

It’s unfortunate that so often I get caught up in the ‘how’  is this going to work.  I’m quite emotional; however, I do have a strong sense of logic on my side as well.  As it’s been for the last six years of my life, I’m still the one that does the bill paying and check balancing (it’s sick, really.  I love it.  I could do it all day everyday.)  We agree upon the budget together, but I’m the one who has the understanding of the bigger picture that so oftentimes dictates my thoughts.  (Starbucks?  No thanks, I’d rather but that $4.26 towards my credit card bill.  You rented how many movies this month?  That’s $7.56 that could have gone to debt.).  I might have taken our Mission Get Out Of Debt to an extreme; but it’s needed.  (As Dave Ramsey says, live different now so we can live different later!)  And we’re not starving, we’re not hurting – we’re quite blessed actually!  In fact, being on a budget has really helped change our perspective.

Anyways, all of this rambling to say that there is something quite large that we’ve been praying about lately (the big reveal will come later in the year); however, there were two pretty big things that needed to happen before we could do anything.  So part of our prayers were asking the Lord to somehow provide a (quite substantial) bit of money.  Well, let me just tell you, as I was working it out in my head last week about all the different ways we could move money around, I felt the Lord tell me, ‘Stop doing this in your own strength.  Let Me provide.’.  Okay, Lord, go ahead and take care of that. I’ll gladly hand that over.  Well, this weekend, something pretty incredible happened – miraculous really.  Between an unexpected pay raise and filing our taxes, we ended up with $1.52 over what we had been praying for.  Really?!  An extra $1.52 on top of it?!  That’s a Redbox movie for the Hubs.  A pack of gum for me.  We’ll have to battle over that 🙂 

I’m just humbled.  Amazed.  In awe.  And now entering a bittersweet time….more details later.