Answers to Prayer

Wow!  2013 has been quite a year.  I prayed that it would be totally different than 2012.  And God heard my prayer.  It has been!  When I pray things like that, I'm only thinking of the good things that could happen to make the year different.  And when I say good, I mean immediately good.  Like a year full of only blessings.  But to be honest, how can you appreciate the blessings God gives you, if you don't have to go through the fire to get there.

Our year started off quite stressful and strange.  I had found out at the end of 2012, that I had a little tumor on my thyroid that needed to be removed.  On January 4th, I saw a surgeon and he scheduled my surgery for the very day that my husband had to be 900 miles away at his first day of welding school.  God was good to us, and made it so his first day of school got pushed back two days because of a clerical error.  Matt was able to spend time with me before surgery and as soon as I came out of surgery, he had to leave for PA.  I've already blogged about this part of my life, so I'll fast forward.  I spent the next couple weeks recovering by myself.  And the next few months trying to be a single mom.  Neither of those things are easy.

After four months, Matt came home a certified welder.  It had been a very LONG 4 months.

During this time, neither of us were employed.  So come May, we hadn't had a paycheck since the beginning of December.  God laid it on my heart to tithe regardless.  For me it was to prove that God could provide. And he did!  Through anonymous givers, through little side jobs, through gifts, through generous family members who were willing to help pay our bills.  We were never in need.  All our bills were met every month.  It was almost unbelievable; a half a year without a paycheck and we were not only paying our mortgage and utilities, but paying for medical bills from a surgery, and we were still staying afloat.  I kind of felt like George Muller.  We didn't ask anyone for any money.  We only took what we were offered.  We were excited to see how God would provide.

May was an interesting month.  We thought for sure (along with most of our family and close friends) that Matt would come home and get a job immediately.  He didn't.

June came and went.  Applications were put out.  Nothing.  Friends were on the look out for us.  Nothing.  Many hopeful contacts in the welding world.  Nothing.

July.  July pretty much reads just like June.  That is up until July 15th.   I had been at peace about the whole joblessness, well, as least as best as I could be.  Matt calls a company on the 15th and gets a job interview for July 17th.  He calls another company and they tell him that he can come in anytime during the week to interview. (Interview in the welding world is pretty much, show us what you can do.)  He planned on going to the one interview on Tuesday.

Come Tuesday morning, he changed his mind.  He wanted to practice at home first.  I was a little frustrated, (because hey let's face it, I really wanted him to get a job!) but I understood his wanting to be prepared.  Tuesday night the plan for Wednesday was to go to scheduled interview, then immediately go to other interview.  Tuesday night he gets a call from his friend.  He needed help with something that couldn't wait.  He scheduled that for Wednesday at 4pm fully expecting to go to both interviews.  

Wednesday: Went to first interview.  He got offered a position there knowing that he was going on another interview the same day.  He told them he'd let them know by Friday if he'd accept the position.  Little did he know that the interview would last him 3 hours.  There was no way he could eat lunch, go to the other interview and make it to his friend's house by four. (The other interview was a 40 minute drive one way.)  He decided to take the kids canoeing as he had promised them earlier that week.  Of course, I don't take that news very well and become quite frustrated.  Never-the-less, that's what was happening.  As he's pulling out of the driveway with very happy kiddos and a canoe, he gets a call from the friend cancelling their 4 o'clock appointment.  I'm fuming.  He could've gone!  I get over my extreme frustration . . . eventually.  :)  He told me that he would do the other interview on Thursday instead.  Well, Wednesday afternoon, unbeknownst to us, our upstairs air-conditioner broke.  It had to have been at least 100* upstairs. No joke.  We had company that night, so he couldn't sleep downstairs in the air-conditioned part of the house because that's where our company was staying.

Onto Thursday:  Because of the air-conditionerless upstairs, he slept horrible!  He woke up like a zombie.  He told me that he was not able to weld.  He was way too tired.  I understood completely.  I was just as exhausted.  He decided that if he felt better by the afternoon, he'd go in.  He really didn't bounce back until 5pm.  Interviews stop for the day at 4:30.  Well, guess we'll shoot for Friday (the day we have to have an answer for the other company).

Friday: Matt wakes up with a horrible cold.  Violent coughing.  Really?!?  You can't weld & cough for obvious reasons.  Well, the events of the past week solidified in my heart that that interview was not supposed to happen!  Not so much in Matt's heart . . . yet.  He decided to go to the interview around 1pm.  On his way there, I'm convinced he's not supposed to go to this interview.  I pray.  I pray that if it offers better pay & he'd be tempted to take it, but that's not where he's supposed to be, that God will stop him in his tracks (I did add, without having him be in a car accident).  Immediately after praying, and I mean immediately, I get a text from Matt: "Between our house and chelsea there is a train track with a train at a dead stop".  I reply: "A sign from God?!? I did ask him to make it clear if you shouldn't apply."   I continue to pray for wisdom for him.  He calls me and tells me that he was going to turn around and go the other route which is a 20 mile detour.  I pray again, that God would stop him if he's not supposed to go.  He immediately calls and says that he's decided to turn around because he saw the train moving ever so slowly.  But if he gets in a traffic jam, he'll just come home.  I pray.  "Lord, he's not heeding your signs!  We're going to have to do this differently.  I don't know what Your will is for him, but if he is going to take this job and You don't want him to be there, You have to speak to his heart.  That is the only way he is going to hear!"  Immediately the phone rings.  It's Matt.  He is just a couple of miles away from his destination, away from the interview.  He pulled off to the side of the road, and he just felt like he wasn't supposed to go on this interview.  He basically asked me if it was okay if he took the other job instead.  I emphatically said "Yes!"  He called the other place where he had already had his interview and accepted it.

And Wha-La!  Today he has started his first job in welding.  A field of work where we absolutely stepped out in faith.  Not knowing what God had in store for us, but knowing it was the right thing to do.  Knowing that we wouldn't have an income, but having faith that God would take care of us regardless.  Knowing that we would be apart from each other and that that would be very difficult, but proceeding anyway!  Knowing that this direction of our life was God-led!  And that was the very best part.  I'd rather be in His will than mine!

Why did I share this story?  Well, for starters, I wanted to share what was going on in our lives this year.  But more importantly, so that you could see God's wisdom, provision, guidance, love, sovereignty and that God answers prayer!  I've been praying for a new job for Matt for 10 years now.  But God knew exactly when and where he needed that job.  With some prayers the answer comes slowly.  Others are answered immediately.  And that's what happened on Friday.  Immediate answers.  Sovereign direction.  This was NO coincidence people.  This was a loving, all-knowing God who knew exactly what we needed and exactly when we needed it!  All praise and glory go to Him!