When No Becomes Yes

If you read my post on  Divine Appointments and then the follow up Handling Disappointments, about the whole job opportunity for my sweetie that didn't come to pass, this may be of special interest to you.

When the "divine appointment" happened, we clearly could see it was a God-orchestrated thing. And then, after the interview, when they called and said "sorry, but not at this time", we trusted there was still a lesson in all of it and we'd just roll with it.

Then, last week a couple of things happened.

First, a little out of the blue, Bruce was offered a part time-short term position with our church helping assess a maintenance position that needed to be filled. He thought that sounded rather interesting and said sure, why not.

On the heels of this, another call came in and.... yep, the job that didn't happen was now calling back asking was he still interested? (Apparently, the first person they offered the position to, didn't work out.) Short story is, he will start working full time for the building supply company in March!

(Insert insanely happy dancing and yippy-ki-yaying here)

Our take on this is that given the way the job came to his attention in the first place (with a little bit of shock) and considering the internal struggle he has wrestled with,(is this really what I want to do?)  God was just giving him more time to think on it. And to flex that ol' trust muscle a little more. The interim position with our church is also an interesting piece of the pie and I am sure the next 30 days will prove to be greatly beneficial in ways we are yet to discover.

It humbles me and scares me at the same time. One thing I am learning over and over again is that when we choose to be Christ followers, we allow God to be in control. The journey with God is best enjoyed when we let Him choose the vehicle that will transport us from one adventure to the next. The best thing I can do is get in, buckle up and let God drive. When I let God have His way with me, I experience that Peace that Passes Understanding, for which there is no comparison.

This new job for Bruce is going to be an adventure for sure. Thirty-some years ago, God led him into construction, kicking and screaming, and then he discovered how well suited he was for it. We're trusting that God's leading into a different realm of the construction world is just as big a part of God's plan for our lives as it always has been.

Of Broken Down Vehicles, New Printers and Sleeping In.

we interrupt this day of cleaning house and making soup to share with you the following....

I just want to go on record and say I am really exhausted of constantly operating in CRISIS MODE. 

I know that cars break down and repairs are to be expected but I really think that we experience more car repairs than anyone else I know. And when they break down, they are not EVER not expensive!

We have been blessed by the long life of Big Yellow, hubby's awesome work truck, which we bought 14 years ago from a u-haul rental company. It has served us well over the years but we have had our share of serious breakdowns!! The transmission going out as we were traveling over Steven's Pass one summer stands out in my memory. The thing is when Big Yellow can't move,  everything else stands still as well. All of Bruce's tools are in the back of the work truck and if he can't take his tools to work, he can't go to work. This is the downside of having your tool storage and your truck being one and the same.

The breakdown is serious and we of course do not have the means with which to repair it. We also do not have the luxury of NOT fixing it or replacing it. Kind of stuck between a rock and hard place. Hubby has work to go to on Monday and this weekend will require some fancy shuffling of things in order to allow him to do that. Right now our best bet is to load as many of his tools into the funky little utility trailer and pull it with the (also needing work but still running) mini-van. And eventually make a decision about going forward with fixing Big Yellow or towing it home and retiring it while we shop for something else.

SIGH.

I was a lump of a bump on the couch most of yesterday as I despaired over our latest misfortune. I was not much of a voice of encouragement to my husband. Just too exhausted from yet another crisis. Even though I knew there were things I really needed to get up go do, I sat. Finally, with hubby's push, I got up and went to town to run errands. One of the things I had to get was ink cartridges for our printer. Those things are not cheap and it's been awhile since we bought any. We've put off printing anything trying to save money but the builder needed to send some hard copies of things to a prospective client so print them we must! I soon discovered in my wanderings around the office supply store, that it was going to actually save me money to just buy a new printer instead of replacement ink for the old one! Imagine that! Yes, they had a fantastic sale going on printers and it comes with ink and future purchases of this ink cartridge cost less than the cartridges the present printer take. AND, since our old printer is just that, OLD and constantly JAMMING and causing my poor husband to lose his FRUITS OF THE SPIRIT, it seemed the best thing to do was buy a new printer.

It's also a scanner. Which is something I have been wanting for a long time so I can scan my old photos and put them on my computer!! And it's a wireless printer which means I can be sitting in my room using my laptop and send something to the printer without having to get up and plug in any cables. WHoot WHoot!!

We stayed up late last night playing/printing with the printer/scanner and organizing the office space. Then  I slept in this morning and took my coffee and bagel back to bed to feast as I got caught up on emails and facebook. And despite the fact that the truck is still sitting in town at the repair shop waiting for a directive, things look better. As a friend reminded me yesterday: HE works ALL THINGS together for my good. 

Really, things could be so much worse. And even though I do feel like we spend a lot of time operating in crisis mode thanks to financial woes, it's all just a blip in the grand scheme of things.

Now, excuse me, I've got soup to make!

So be truly glad. There is wonderful joy ahead, even though you have to endure many trials for a little while. These trials will show that your faith is genuine. It is being tested as fire tests and purifies gold—though your faith is far more precious than mere gold. So when your faith remains strong through many trials, it will bring you much praise and glory and honor on the day when Jesus Christ is revealed to the whole world. 1 Peter 1:6-7 

Let Me Tell You About It

With hubby working every minute of every day, time alone together, uninterrupted and focused, is precious.

After weeks of watching him work exhaustively, with little return on his investment, listening to him grouch and grumble, I start to reach MY breaking point too. I try to give him room for his mood, because after almost 16 years of marriage, I know this is just how it goes. I know this will blow over and things will smooth out.... Still, there comes a time when I have to check in.... "Honey, are WE okay?"  Of course we are is his usual response-- it's just him. Now, while I understand that feeling, and even experience it for myself from time to time.... what he fails to remember, is something that I wonder doesn't happen to lots of married couples... When YOU are not OKAY, then WE are not okay.... because WE are ONE. What affects you, affects me. When you hurt, I hurt....  it does us all good to remember that from time to time and change our attitude and temperament to reflect that....

When I learned he was planning to work yet another Saturday, cleaning up at the job site, I decided I would join him. I may not be able to do a lot of physical labor as intensive as what he had planned but I could offer moral support, a ready smile and maybe even sneak in a little uninterrupted focused on us time?

Well, it was a good thought!!

We separated lumber, lugged junk, picked up tools, and tidied up the job site. Soon the site was looking pretty spiffy, the junk trailer was ready to be hauled to the dump and we'd made good time. Until it was time to hook up the trailer. We had the wrong ball hitch. The right ball hitch for towing was in the garage. At home.

So.... home we went, about 10 minutes one way.... not a big deal but still a little bit of a hassle when we had a schedule we dearly wanted to keep. But despite the wrinkle, soon we were on our way to the dump...

and about half way there some sputtering alerted us to another wrinkle in our plan.... we were running out of gas.

The gas gauge in Big Yellow hasn't worked in a long time... He keeps track of his fuel with copious sticky notes of figures on the dashboard, and it works most of the time.... but every once in awhile.... well, let's just say there is a reason he keeps gas containers in the back of the truck!

Alas, the containers were EMPTY. Thankfully, we ran out on 1. a back country road (opposed to a dangerously busy highway) and 2. we pulled off the road right next to a house that had a gregarious gentleman sitting on the front porch who was happy to run Bruce to the nearest gas station!

Soon we were putt-putt -putting back down the road and unloading our junk at the dump. Dump Dates have long been a fun adventure for the two of us as we often have the most reflective, passionate, and heart revealing conversations... I'm not sure why, but I think there is a metaphor of cleaning out junk from our lives that going to the dump symbolizes. This day was no different but it was very warm, we were trying to scrape all this garbage out of the trailer and I wasn't as much help as I'd have liked to be... and frankly, the dump STINKS. I was glad when we pulled out of there.

We had a couple other stops that afternoon and I just kept smelling the dump... it was trapped on my clothes, my skin, in my nose. I could think of nothing better than a hot shower. I suppose the fact that we sort of skipped lunch might have helped to contributed to my quickly fading energy and patience.

It was a good time for me to remember that when I'm not OKAY, then WE are not okay....

We got home, I washed my hands and threw some ginormous bakers in the oven and hit the shower. We ate a hearty dinner of baked potatoes and butter beans with baked apples for dessert and called it a night. Or, I did anyway. Hubby was back on the computer, finishing up another item on his to-do list.

I'm glad we had those few hours, grubby as it was.