"Sometimes God says 'yes'. Sometimes God says 'no'. And sometimes God says 'not yet'."
And sometimes God says, "Were you serious?"
(me): "Wait. What?"
(God): "Were you serious when you said you would 'maintain readiness'?"
(me): "Uh... yes...?"
(God): "Well, saddle up!"
Monday, 11:30pm - Tuesday, 11:30am. Twelve hours. That's how long it took for us to go from "hold" to "go"! We are still reeling a bit... Excited. Nervous. Happy. Sad. Answers! Questions... Here's how it all went down:
Monday evening - Hubby had a meeting at church with the leadership team, which was concluded with prayer. During the prayer time Hubby felt that he needed to bless the church as he left. He remembered some words that his grandfather had spoken to him months ago. "If you bless the church as you leave, God will bless you." So, he prayed a prayer of blessing over the church and the leadership team. An hour or less after he got home from his meeting his phone rang. It was a friend from C-Town. "Are you still interested in moving out here? I think I've got a job for you!" He went on to describe the job a bit. It was an open position at his workplace - in the hospital. Hubby was interested, so the friend said he would speak with his boss on Tuesday morning. We were a bit stunned. Hubby had prayed specifically that a job in the hospital would open up for him if we were supposed to move out there. He had even applied there (for a different position) a couple months ago, but had not heard anything. Could this be the open door we were waiting for? What of our current plans? What was God DOING?
Tuesday morning - Hubby's last day at the church. He cleaned out his office and was home just before lunchtime. He was still bringing boxes in from the car when his phone rang. It was the friend's boss. "Hey, are you still interested in coming to work for us?" In a word... "YES!" (Some discussion ensued.) "Your friend gave you a great recommendation. I have your application here. I'd like to offer you the job. I'll send the paperwork over to HR and get a salary worked up for you." He said he'd get back to us later in the week.
Wow! Hubby is so excited - he was on the phone pretty much the rest of the week calling friends and family to let them in on this big development. We've been listening for words of caution and warning flags, wanting to be sure of ourselves, but everyone has been excited for us and very encouraging. Of course there is some sadness on the part of our local friends and family, and on our part too. We'll miss everyone here, but we can't really ignore something like this! God is in the details! We can see His hand in the way everything is coming together perfectly. A few weeks prior, Hubby had prayed that God would open up a job in the C-Town Hospital if we were supposed to move there. Now this!
Later in the week - We didn't hear anything back, so Hubby called him on Thursday or Friday. As it turns out, he can't officially offer the job until it has been listed on their website for a full week. We are feeling confident, and I have been moving forward with packing, but here we are waiting again! :) We have been checking into moving companies and rental trucks - pricing things out and trying to determine our best course of action as far as that goes. We've been looking for rental houses online. I gave notice to the ministry I work for and Hubby gave notice to the construction company he's working for.
Waiting....
Monday (today) - It has been two full weeks since this all started, although it seems like just yesterday. It has been a whirlwind. On Friday we got an email from the hospital with the starting wage for the position, which was just a little bit less than what we had been hoping for, but it should be doable. And today the starting date was confirmed. We have just two weeks to pack and get everything in order here and say our goodbyes. We are still praying for God to provide a place for us to live in C-Town and the finances for the move.
While this job and this move are what we have been praying for, I must admit that my emotions now are much different than they were when I started typing this post a week and a half ago. Reality is setting in... and it is overwhelming. I'm sure this is quite normal, but even knowing that doesn't make me feel much better. There is so much to be done that I'm quite sure I can't do it all! I should make a list to help me organize. However, when I think about everything that needs to go on the list - I am sure that writing it all down will make me panic! The kids are in tune with the changes and (dare I say) my attitude as well. I can tell because their behavior has collectively been so atrocious these last weeks that it has been incredibly difficult for me to get anything significant accomplished during the day. *sigh* God, give me the strength... (and the patience!).
I will try to update here if I can - if I have the time! But there is a distinct possibility that the next time I sit down to write a post that I will be sitting down in front of a computer in C-Town. Still seems a little unreal...
As always we appreciate your prayers.
"Cast your cares on the Lord and he will sustain you..."
-Psalm 55: 22a (NIV 1984)
