So no news yet on Luke's job, but I was encouraged by the "renewed hope" post from my friend in CA, Christina. She lost her sweet son, Judson, to a terrible illness and was just recently forced to move out of the home that held all their memories with him. Though devastated, she has gotten to a place of seeing God's hand in the move and even sensed a fresh hope that comes with being in a new place that has God's provision written all over it. So this was my comment to her:
Christina,
I'm so encouraged by this testimony!
We've been waiting for about a month to hear if Luke got this great teaching opportunity in Santa Barbara and last Friday, after the ups and downs of hoping/wondering/analyzing and lots of well-timed sermons on patience, God brought Luke and I both to a place of desiring it strongly but holding it loosely so that it doesn't become our identity or an idol. I've really never had to do that to this degree before and I realize that others (including you) have had to do it to much more intense degrees.
But I woke up this morning feeling down again. It's raining, I don't have as much going on to keep my mind off of it, and I'm trying to over-analyze the situation again. So I turned on some notoriously joyful worship music (from IHOP and Bethel ministries) and between that and your post - my hope is renewed. Not based on the outcome of whether or not Luke gets this particular job and all the desired new things that could come with that, but because God is good and generous even when He doesn't give us exactly what we think we need.
Thanks for the reminder, friend.
=), mel
Here are a few of the songs that have encouraged me lately...
Posts
2 comments:
Melanie - just what I needed to read tonight. I feel like life's been a little "much" for me lately... had a new baby in January; husband immediately started full-swing scouting season (i.e. SUPER busy and hardly ever home); when Emma was 3 weeks old I found condensation and mold growth on the interior of almost all of our windows (eeewww!); threat of radiation from Japan; threat of HUGE earthquake in CA (which never happened); took on a home renovation which went very badly; had to repair the renovation (double the cost); renovation left dust EVERYWHERE in my home (STRESS, TIME and MONEY to get the house deep-cleaned); renovation repair caused formaldehyde off-gassing (I'm very allergic to formaldehyde); moved my kids to Vegas for 1.5 weeks to escape the off-gassing; invested in EXPENSIVE air filtration units to help; need to paint and touch-up home; listing the house for sale next week; need to find a new home in a more expensive area... all the while trying to feed, clothe, and entertain my 3 kids, pretty much by myself. Through it all, I am searching for life lessons and letting the Lord lead us where He wants us. Thankful to God that even though it's been stressful, no one died, house didn't burn down, no one lost a job, etc. I'm working really hard to keep a VERTICAL VISION, and TRUST in the ALMIGHTY FATHER in HEAVEN that HE is in control!
Wow, Tara! That's a lot. It's always good to be reminded that we're not only ones who have things we are waiting on or struggling through. May you receive support from those around you and a deeper sense of God's goodness and sovereignty during this time. I look forward to when things slow down after both of our big transitions! =)
Post a Comment