Silly me. God promised me that He had my back. He reminds me of this daily, and yet, I felt like this time he was just kidding. He had gotten us through college where there were numerous occasions where I wondered if we would have groceries on the table or if our electricity bill would be paid. He got us through my student loans when I worked as a preschool teacher on an hourly wage that didn't have benefits or paid sick leave. He got us through those summer months in between when I had an $8 an hour job for less than 25 hours a week, and he got us through those moments when I wasn't getting paid at all, like for example, two weeks off at Christmas.
So why was I so worried that things would be any different now? He always provided. Always. But then I thought, well this is too many times. If we were smarter with our money this time around, we wouldn't be in this situation. We don't deserve it. You know what? We don't deserve it. God doesn't give us things because we deserve them. It's called grace, Mandi. God's kinda in the business of that. If we just dish out a little faith, he'll send us home with some grace. It's the way he works.
And you know what? He delivered. Like I knew in my heart he would. Dan's been able to work a lot of overtime, and bless his dear heart, he's doing so with such a graceful and grateful attitude. He doesn't complain about it. He doesn't take out his exhaustion or frustration on his family. In fact, our marriage is better than it's ever been. It's made our family stronger. Not only have we been okay, but our dishwasher, water softener and vacuum took a dump in the last few weeks and have all had to be replaced. We've managed to get those payments squared away and still put food on the table.
I'm not naive enough to believe that's the way it always works or that if I'd had all the faith in the world that I'd be rewarded more. I know that's not true, but I'm learning to have peace with what is and what will be. I know that we will make it through whatever is thrown at us because God told me He won't leave me. I'm never going this journey of life alone. Never.
Sometimes my prayers are answered in a short amount of time. Sometimes it takes months or years. Whatever crossroads you are in right now, life changing or temporarily uncomfortable...please please please remember that God is there. He's listening. He will use this situation to stretch and grow you, and I promise he will use it for good. Somewhere.
Dish out a little faith, and you'll get a little grace in return. Scouts honor.
As for our week?? It was good. The temperature is starting to cool off quickly, and we're spending more time inside. The days are getting unfortunately shorter, but that just means more family time which is always good. Here's a little snippet of our week.
My kiddos participated in the Kinsey 1K. It was very very cold outside, but they were proud of their effort and so was I! It makes me feel good that I'm instilling a love of running in their souls.
We realized this week that we have not done family photos, and being that it is supposed to snow tomorrow, we are running out of time. Dan's eye was bugging him on Saturday and the temps were in the 30's so yesterday we ended up taking our tripod to the Puddle Jumper in Orange City to take a few there, and my mom finished off the rest by her place. Obviously tripod work is very amateur, but my mom got some good ones and I think we'll have some good ones to choose from for our Christmas card!
We don't have many leaves off the trees yet by us, but that hasn't stopped my kids from raking up every last leaf they can find to create a jumping pile. It is Fall over here by golly. And we are enjoying.
Hope your Monday is off to a better start than mine. It's Moscato Monday over here. Hopefully I'm a lot less irritable tomorrow. :)
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