Those desires probably won't be served up on a silver platter...and the process may be difficult, but God is always good! I am surrounded by his goodness and am loving it!!!
Over the past few years the desires of our hearts have changed, but thankfully God knows best and provides in His perfect time! We are at a new beginning after waiting over two years while God worked out all the details.
Our family had been involved in a ministry for over 9 years where our jobs, housing, and kids' school were all part of the package. While it was a great set up, leaving became a bit complicated. Once we decided to step out in faith, it's been fun watching God put all the pieces together.
We had been debt free for seven years! That's a really good thing... until you start thinking about buying a house. Daryl had no credit score and I was non-existent in the system. So for two years we played the credit card game and ended up with excellent credit and qualified for a home loan!
Even before knowing we'd be able to buy a house, we resigned our ministry without other jobs lined up. That was a foreign concept to us, but we felt we needed to take that step. My mom graciously invited us to stay with her during the transition, so we left our stuff in storage in Oklahoma and moved to my mom's in Kansas...actually to my childhood home! That's not weird at all - HA!
After a crazy time of trying to prove our residency at my mom's, we enrolled our son in a Kansas public on-line high school. God quickly provided a part-time job for me as a preschool cook - which was great but physically exhausting. We sold our old Jeep for more than we expected (which covered repairs needed on our van). God provided an anonymous cash gift when we really needed it. Daryl picked up some free-lance graphic design jobs and had a chance to decompress after a stressful couple of years.
A couple of special college friends prayed Daryl through several interviews. When he accepted a job offer, I immediately quit mine :) His job puts us closer to two of our kids and our only granddaughter! It's still in Kansas so doesn't mess up our son's schooling! It pays enough that I won't have to work (a BIG desire)! And... we are able to buy a house - with a fenced back yard for our dog and an amazing front porch for me!!! And how exciting to have a house for the grandkids to visit! Daryl's new employer has been great during our transition of house hunting, commuting, and finally getting moved. It's been refreshing for him to feel valued and appreciated - which was evident when he walked in on his first day to a brand new Mac!!!
We are so excited to be homeowners after being tenants for over 9 years! And with the 3 month transition, we were able to move during the crisp cool fall weather of October instead of the horrible hot summer weather of July. Just another blessing of God's perfect timing! And we had incredible friends help us load the truck!
We've connected with a sweet couple in our new city through a college friend. They go to church with two of Daryl's co-workers - so we're ready to get involved in the church as soon as we get settled. Our realtors and lender have been so helpful to us as well as a lot of fun. And the beginning of this month was our LAST payment for our son's braces - just in time to start making house payments!
There have been a lot of hard days mixed in with the good days, but it's all been worth it! This is a snapshot of how God has been putting together our puzzle. He knew two years ago where we would be right now - HOME SWEET HOME. He is AMAZING!!!
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Be still in the presence of the Lord,
and wait patiently for him to act.
Psalm 37:7a (NLT)
