Monday, August 13, 2012

Hello Crazy

I am convinced that me and Roman like to make ourselves go crazy.

Example #1: We get married right in the middle of our college careers. So he takes on a full load of classes while working a part time job. And I take on a full load of classes (online) while working a full time job. Even in the summer. And we do all of that while being active leaders in our church. Thank the good Lord we're graduated now. Y'all just don't know.

Example #2: We adopt a puppy towards the end of our college careers. When we have the highest amount of classes/homework. We are never home.....so now the puppy is like our child and we tote him around everywhere we go. We are one of those people. Can't. Leave. Dog. At. Home. Alone. He. Would. Be. So. Sad. Please refer to this post for more information.

Example #3: On top of me changing jobs in two weeks, we are also moving.

AAAAAAHHHHHHHHH!!!!!! We are MOVING!!     :)   :)   :)   *insert happy dance here*

Those doctor people who think they know everything say not to have more than one life-changing event every six months or so. If you do, you will be totally crazy and lose your mind or something like that. Roman and I are throwing caution to the wind. What do those people know anyways? So I will be changing to a completely different job in two weeks. And we will also be moving over the next couple of weeks. I. Will. Not. Go. Crazy. Too. Excited. To. Lose. My. Mind.

No really, I won't. I may eat an excessive amount of chocolate. But you will not see this girl having a meltdown. Why? Because this job change and this move is 100% orchestrated by God. I will now attempt to fit the puzzle pieces together for you. They all fit in my mind, so hopefully I can illustrate this right.

Crazy Event #1: The Job

Several months ago I applied for a job. I was selected for that job. But because of some of the details surrounding that job (too complicated to get into here), my supervisor was able to keep me here. I was sad. I was frustrated. I cried....a lot. You see, working in finance makes me more than a little bit crazy. Yes, I realize I have a degree in accounting. Yes, I realize I am good at what I do. But the whole fiscal year schedule thing and close-out and government spending and government cuts and all of that junk makes me go crazy. And this job was going to get me out of finance. So when it fell through....I was crushed. After pouting for several hours, I finally decided that perhaps God was actually saving me from a job I would hate and that there was no sense in acting like a baby. So I pulled my big-girl pants back on and fixed my make-up and kept plowing through.

A couple of months later, I get a phone call. Someone had heard about that whole incident and was wondering if I was still job searching. (This phone call occurred two hours after I had asked God to put me where He wanted me and in a job that would make me happy to come to work.) They had a position for me. One they thought I would thrive in. I applied. I was selected. The whole process took less than a month, which I'm pretty sure is a world record for the government, seeing as how it normally takes three months for us to do anything. I start in two weeks....I couldn't be more excited. Seriously, nine more work-days and I start. Woo hoo!

Now, let's look at this. If I had gotten the first job, then the second job never would have been offered to me. Looking back, I believe my supervisor truly was looking out for my best interest. I think there was a good possibility I would have been "stuck". There was no opportunity in the near future for me to move up. Although I am currently not getting a promotion with my new job, there will be an option for promotion after a few months. Which is just icing on the cake.

So when I step back and look at the big picture, I can truly see how God orchestrated these events. Down to the very fact that I never would have gotten this new job had I not worked where I am now. The only reason the woman who called me knew who I was is because she is the wife of one of my customers and he told her about me. So had I not been in my current job, he would not have known me. He would not have known that I was looking for a job. And he would not have known to tell his wife about me. I dare you to try and tell me that all of this was a coincidence; it is too complicated to have been an accident.

Ready for part two? It gets even better!

Crazy Event #2: The House

If this is your first time reading this blog, then let me give you a little history. If this is not your first time reading this blog, prepare to see me whine about our current house one. last. time.

During the summer, it gets up to 90 degrees during the day. During the winter, it stays in the low 60s. We live in a double-wide trailer that is barely insulated. It is old. And cats live underneath it and have shredded the duct-work.  So we heat and cool the dirt under our trailer, basically. And we therefore pay a ridiculous electricity bill every month.
The kitchen sink and our shower clogs up often.
There are bugs everywhere because we can't get the house sealed up well.
The floor in the bathroom and laundry room sinks because of past water damage.
The hot water only lasts for fifteen minutes at a time.
Our neighbors are loud. I am fairly certain that a particular Hispanic tune will forever be in my brain because I've heard that song at least ten times a month.
There is no dishwasher. You do not realize how many dishes you use until you have to do all of them by yourself.
Our shower is ridiculously tiny.

Are these all minor inconveniences? Yes. Am I being a baby? Yes. Am I thankful for the roof over my head? You bet.

But lately, Roman and I have been praying extra hard for God to move us somewhere....well, less troublesome and more peaceful. We were being very specific with our prayers:
We want to rent a house. A real house. With real air conditioning and real duct-work. And a bigger hot water heater. And a nice-sized shower. And a dish washer. And we have to be able to bring Dukey-face inside because he would be sad if we made him sleep outside. And please let us be somewhere peaceful but still close to town. Amen.

We have not been looking at houses. We were not searching online. We were not asking around. I tried searching a little bit but I stopped because it was making me depressed. Looking at pictures of really nice houses that you could never afford is just plain depressing.

So we decided to sit back and be content and let God work. Oh, how He worked.

This past Tuesday we got a phone call. There was a house for rent. A house that was only a mile away from our church and therefore only a mile away from town. A decent-sized house that is only a little over a decade old. We called. It was still available. The rent was a chunk higher than what we pay now, but not out of our range. We could see it on Sunday.

We began praying a lot harder. We asked told God that if this was the house for us, it had to be perfect. The landlord had to be okay with us not paying a huge security deposit. Duke had to be able to stay. There had to be functioning appliances because our fridge and stove do not belong to us. We wanted it to be in good shape. We wanted it to be somewhat purty. And please, oh please, let there be a dishwasher and a larger shower.

We agreed before Sunday: if it did not have every single thing on our list, we would take it as a sign from God that this was not the place for us. You know how the story ends, because we are moving. But let me just brag on how good my God is for a few minutes, m'kay?

Y'all. I feel like I'm moving into a castle. A castle with a brand new dishwasher in it and a huge shower that lives inside of a gigantic bathroom. It has a double-door fridge. It has a stove. It even has an over-the-range microwave (something Roman has always wanted, but wasn't on the requirements list). It has a front-porch, a deck, and a concrete patio. It even has a playground for when we do have kids. It has a garage. It has a darn gate with a motor in it so we can be all fancy and type in our pass-code and it opens for us. It even has a jacuzzi. It has TWO walk-in closets between the master bedroom and master bathroom. Not to mention the walk-in pantry, coat closet, two other closets, and a storage room that you can access from the deck. And the place is just beautiful. It's far back enough on the dirt road that you can't hear the highway traffic, yet still only a mile away from town. But out the back you see nothing but pastures, a couple houses, and a pond, so it feels like you are way far away from civilization. And the neighbors are really quiet.

I thought I was going to cry for joy in front of our new landlord while she was showing us everything. Sure, there are a couple of scratches in the floor and on the wall. But I just felt God saying, "All this is for you baby girl. How could you ever doubt My love for you?"

Our bedroom even has blue carpet, which is not my favorite color, but it's funny because our current house has blue carpets in the guest bedroom. Coincidence? I don't think so. As soon as I saw the carpet, I knew that we were going to be living there before I had even seen the rest of the house. I just knew it would work.

She will work with us on the security deposit. She's cool with Dukey-face and Ralph and Lauren. There is a pool next door that the neighbors don't care if we use. We even have the option of buying the house one day if we want. She even said something like this: "I'm excited that y'all are excited. I just hope that this is the place God had lined up for you guys and that you will decide to live here." It took everything in me to not straight-out cry for joy when she said that. She had no idea we had prayed for this very house.

We were worried that our current landlord would want a full 30-day notice, and we wanted to move in by September 1st. He was totally cool with the September 1st deadline, which was just one more cherry on top for us.

We meet our new landlord on Friday to sign a contract and get the keys. Even though we aren't set to begin living there until September 1st, she's going to let us go ahead and start moving stuff in, which is great because it will make things a lot less hectic for us.

Can I please get a round of applause for my God? *clap clap clap clap clap clap clap clap clap* I mean, seriously, He has really lavished some blessings on us this past week. He gave us everything we asked for and more. He just blows my mind with how awesome and good He is.

And to top everything off, Roman has an interview this Wednesday for a full-time job!!!!

Now let me just say this: I don't think any of this would have happened if we had not been faithful to Him. Roman and I have gone above and beyond our tithes since before we were even married. We gave when we had plenty. We gave when our parents were buying our groceries because we were so broke. The Bible is very clear: if you want the blessings of God to rain down, you have to be faithful first. And the Bible also tells us to pray very specifically for our needs and desires, which we also did.

Now, I am not saying that if you are faithful in your tithing that you will get a really nice house complete with a jacuzzi and new dishwasher, but I am saying that you absolutely cannot expect to get blessed if you are not being faithful to God. And you can't be throwing your tithes in the plate while telling God "okay, give me my blessing." We did not expect God to do anything for us. We were content to stay in our little trailer indefinitely. We had hoped that would not be the case, but we were content. But God showed up in a really big way and dumped a huge shower of blessing on us when we were totally not expecting it. And that's pretty awesome in my opinion.

I am so happy that I serve a God who loves His children. Sure, we go through hard times. Really hard times. Just read this post that I wrote just last week. Life is definitely messy and hard....but it is also really beautiful and great. And I am happy to say that God has brought Roman and I through a really tough time and has taken us to a green pasture for a moment where we can rest. No really, there are green pastures in our backyard that I will probably stare at for a good long time while drinking my sweet tea.

So even though we are being rule breakers and having two life-changing events at the same time, I have more peace about the craziness that is about to begin than I have in months. I am actually excited about turning my house upside down and driving back and forth to our new place a trillion times with car-fulls of stuff. Because I know this is part of God's intricate plan. And I can't wait to see what He does next.

And I'm just really excited to finally use a dishwasher. Oh happy day, I get a dishwasher!! One more round of applause for the God who gives me a dishwasher. *clap clap clap clap clap clap clap clap clap clap*

"That is why I tell you not to worry about everyday life-whether you have enough food and drink, or enough clothes to wear. Isn't life more than food, and your body more than clothing? Look at the birds. They don't plant or harvest or store food in barns, for your heavenly Father feeds them. And aren't you far more valuable to Him than they are? Can all your worries add a single moment to your life? And why worry about your clothing? Look at the lilies of the field and how they grow. They don't work or make their clothing, yet Solomon in all his glory was not dressed as beautifully as they are. And if God cares so wonderfully for wildflowers that are here today and thrown into the fire tomorrow, He will certainly care for you. Why do you have so little faith? So don't worry about these things, saying, 'What will we eat? What will we drink? What will we wear?' These things dominate the thoughts of unbelievers, but your heavenly Father already knows all your needs. Seek the Kingdom of God above all else, and live righteously, and He will give you everything you need. So don't worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will bring its own worries. Today's trouble is enough for today."                                             ~Matthew 6:25-34



2 comments:

  1. I totally understand what you are talking about. We have been trying almost since the beginning of our marriage to find a newer doublewide because we are currently living in a 14x66 3bed/2bth singlewide with no dishwasher, and almost every single thing you described in your post. And we have 2 adults, a 12 year old and a 3 month old in this hosue. While we looked at doublewides we couldnt find anything that worked for us in our price range... But lo and behold, Jason had a great year last year that has enabled us to buy land and BUILD a house right next to where we are currently. Tell me God wasnt looking out for us!

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    1. That is so awesome! Isn't it cool how God will go above and beyond our needs sometimes? Congrats--so happy for you guys!!

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