A Temporary Home

I mentioned last week, that I was relieved when the apartment that The Man was hoping to rent didn't become available leaving him in the hotel(someplace familiar) to ride out Tropical Storm Ida. Our prayer was that he would be able to find a place to live short term that wouldn't be terribly expensive. The hotel had graciously extended The Man's stay at the same corporate rate the company paid during his training but even that would have become very expensive if he had to continue to stay there until we join him in December. Late last week, God answered another prayer for us by providing The Man with a vacation rental home to stay in until we move down there. It will be considerably less money than the hotel would have been which is a huge blessing. The Man also seems quite happy to be in a house after living in a hotel room for twelve weeks. Can you imagine? While it's nice to have someone else to do the cleaning, a hotel room just never feels like home.

We explored the idea of The Man just renting a house for us and living in it until we joined him. He would have had to buy and air mattress and a few other things to get by on until we got down there. The vacation home rental works better overall though. It's fully furnished. He didn't need anything but his personal belongings and food. The woman rented it for a month and will offer a nightly prorated rental fee beyond that if he needs it. Isn't it just like God to work out everything perfectly for us, even better than we would have worked it out for ourselves.

We are so thankful to have this latest answer. We're looking forward to celebrating Thanksgiving in the vacation home with plenty of space and everything we need to cook and and enjoy a wonderful meal and time together as family.

1 Chronicles 16:34 (NIV)
34 Give thanks to the LORD, for he is good;
his love endures forever.

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Refuge

Sunday evening Hurricane Ida was making a bee line for the Florida panhandle. I got a phone call from The Man. He was in WalMart and wanted me to help him put together a few things he might need in case there was extended power outage and other problems resulting from the storm. Over the weekend the apartment he had hoped to rent hadn't become available after all. I was actually relieved to know he'd be in the hotel as the storm passed over rather than a new place he wasn't familiar with.

I was so glad to see Ida had been dowgraded to a tropical storm early Monday. I was also relieved to find out that people there take preparing for these storms seriously. The restaurant he worked at closed early so he was able to get back to his hotel room before the heavy rains and winds hit. And even though I knew he'd be okay, I admit that I kept checking in on The Weather Channel throughout the night to see what the storm was doing.

By this morning the storm had mostly blown through and my Man was safe. The damage in the area was minimal and mostly reserved to the coastline. I am so grateful that the storm weakened and passed over with only minimal problems.

There is nothing that is beyond the power of God. I know He was there providing refuge as the storm passed over last night and that the storm itself was controlled by His hand. This is true of not only the literal storms but of all the other storms we face in this life whether it be a job loss, relationship troubles, sick children, unexpected health issues, etc. God is our refuge from the storm.

Psalm 46:1-3
1 God is our refuge and strength,
an ever-present help in trouble.
2 Therefore we will not fear, though the earth give way
and the mountains fall into the heart of the sea,
3 though its waters roar and foam
and the mountains quake with their surging.

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An Answer

After living day by day without answers since mid-August we finally know where we will be living and which store my husband will be working in. We will, in fact, be living in Florida. We are all very excited. The planner in me let out of sigh of relief at finally knowing. I have had to let go completely these last two months and just live day to day trusting God to work out the details.

For well over a year God has been working on me; taking away the layers of things I held onto for security and teaching me that all I really need is in Him. Two job losses in a year has shown me you can't depend on a job for security. I see now how much security I had found in the job my husband held for 11 years. I didn't realize it gave me security until it was gone. An income slashed almost in half has reminded me that security does not come from money. The death of people dear to me has revealed to me security does not come from earthly relationships. And finally not knowing where I would be living for two months has shown me that security is not something I can give myself by planning my life out the way I think it should go. My life is His. My security is in my sweet Lord. He gives me enough for each day and that is all I need.

I won't say this journey's been easy. I've cried. I've prayed. I've searched His word. I've been scared. I've asked why. I have wanted to skip the valley and just go back to sitting on the mountain top. And I still want to know the answers to all the questions I have like now. I'm not the best at waiting on the Lord but through this He is teaching me how to wait and drawing me closer to Him.

These last two months have been particularly challenging and I'm not naive enough to think it's going to get much easier from here on out. There are still a lot of unanswered questions. Will we find an affordable rental? When will our house sell? Can we continue to get by on one income? What about finding new schools and a new church? If I allow myself to sit and dwell on any of those questions the anxiety begins to build and I start wanting to take back control and start worrying myself sick. But last week God answered one question. He's taking us to Florida. And I know that when He's ready more questions will be answered. He's taken care of us up to this point. He has promised to continue to do so.

Jeremiah 29:11
11 "For I know the plans I have for you," declares the LORD, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future."

And for that, I'm grateful.

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