Exactly one year ago today, my life changed. It probably sounds like I'm exaggerating. To some, a simple phone call is no big deal. But this wasn't just any phone call. As I said, this phone call changed my life.
My husband was offered a new job.
It sounds like such a minor thing, doesn't it? Good, but "life changing???"
Well, while I hadn't exactly given up hope of ever moving, I was approaching that. We had been living in dh's hometown for nearly 3 years. I had sworn up and down that I was never going to move there. God really has a sense of humor at times! ;-) We lived in a house that I had never wanted to live in (I agreed to buy it because I thought we'd be able to sell it and make money on it, to help get out of debt...little did I know that it was going to SHARPLY INCREASE our debt. *sigh*). We didn't have a church. My closest friend lived 1.5 hours away. My in-laws lived in town with us, and my mom and stepdad lived 1.5 hours away, but they had their own lives as well. And it was just LONELY.
Dh's job when we first moved there was a relief position. That meant that he was a substitute inspector in charge, for whomever was on vacation/medical leave/etc. That meant he traveled. A lot. After a little over 2 years of doing that, he was able to get an in-plant position at a plant about an hour from our house, so he actually got to sleep at our house again (instead of a hotel like he had been). The only problem with that was that it was a night-shift position, so he slept during the day. Like I said, it was LONELY.
Those 3 years were the hardest years of my life. (So far! ;-) ) I'll spare you the gory details. But I will tell you one thing. JESUS CHRIST IS REAL. While yes, He proved His love for me on the cross, He also continued to show it to me during this time. My situation stunk, I'll be honest. But He carried me through it. At the time I didn't really see it usually. But there were times when He spoke to my heart and reminded me of the promises in His Word: "My grace is sufficient for you." "Come to me, all who are weary and heavy laden, and I will give you rest."
I wonder what Joseph was thinking the night before he was summoned to Pharoah. Was he praying to be released? Was he thinking about what he was going to do the next day? Was he thinking about what had happened to him? Had he given up hope of ever getting out of prison, I wonder?
Personally, I had plans to go to a Creative Memories crop that night. It was life as usual. I still was hoping and praying that dh would be called for an interview and get promoted, but he'd been on several and had applied for several, and nothing had happened, so yeah, I was beginning to lose hope.
But then he got the phone call from this guy (who is now his boss). Although they hadn't interviewed dh, they'd talked with his supervisors and found out that "although he's young, he's eager to delve into things." So they offered him the job here. As I listened to dh talk on the phone, I just sat down on the floor and started crying.
I was finally going to be freed.
A few days ago dh mentioned that he can't believe we've been here for almost a year (it will be a year at the end of May). I said something about how yeah, March 19 will be a year from when they called you for your promotion. He seemed surprised that I remembered exactly what date it was.
I've never actually been in jail, but I'd be willing to bet that someone who has been put in there, especially if they were innocent or had just done something STUPID (like I had in agreeing to buy our house)...I bet they'd remember the date they got out. I bet Joseph marked his anniversary every year of going from prison to standing before Pharoah!
Sure my life is still stressful. But I am no longer ISOLATED. I have a church. My husband is home (usually ;-) ). As Gollum says in The Two Towers, "SMEAGOL IS FREEEEEEEEEEE!!!!!!!"
My husband was offered a new job.
It sounds like such a minor thing, doesn't it? Good, but "life changing???"
Well, while I hadn't exactly given up hope of ever moving, I was approaching that. We had been living in dh's hometown for nearly 3 years. I had sworn up and down that I was never going to move there. God really has a sense of humor at times! ;-) We lived in a house that I had never wanted to live in (I agreed to buy it because I thought we'd be able to sell it and make money on it, to help get out of debt...little did I know that it was going to SHARPLY INCREASE our debt. *sigh*). We didn't have a church. My closest friend lived 1.5 hours away. My in-laws lived in town with us, and my mom and stepdad lived 1.5 hours away, but they had their own lives as well. And it was just LONELY.
Dh's job when we first moved there was a relief position. That meant that he was a substitute inspector in charge, for whomever was on vacation/medical leave/etc. That meant he traveled. A lot. After a little over 2 years of doing that, he was able to get an in-plant position at a plant about an hour from our house, so he actually got to sleep at our house again (instead of a hotel like he had been). The only problem with that was that it was a night-shift position, so he slept during the day. Like I said, it was LONELY.
Those 3 years were the hardest years of my life. (So far! ;-) ) I'll spare you the gory details. But I will tell you one thing. JESUS CHRIST IS REAL. While yes, He proved His love for me on the cross, He also continued to show it to me during this time. My situation stunk, I'll be honest. But He carried me through it. At the time I didn't really see it usually. But there were times when He spoke to my heart and reminded me of the promises in His Word: "My grace is sufficient for you." "Come to me, all who are weary and heavy laden, and I will give you rest."
I wonder what Joseph was thinking the night before he was summoned to Pharoah. Was he praying to be released? Was he thinking about what he was going to do the next day? Was he thinking about what had happened to him? Had he given up hope of ever getting out of prison, I wonder?
Personally, I had plans to go to a Creative Memories crop that night. It was life as usual. I still was hoping and praying that dh would be called for an interview and get promoted, but he'd been on several and had applied for several, and nothing had happened, so yeah, I was beginning to lose hope.
But then he got the phone call from this guy (who is now his boss). Although they hadn't interviewed dh, they'd talked with his supervisors and found out that "although he's young, he's eager to delve into things." So they offered him the job here. As I listened to dh talk on the phone, I just sat down on the floor and started crying.
I was finally going to be freed.
A few days ago dh mentioned that he can't believe we've been here for almost a year (it will be a year at the end of May). I said something about how yeah, March 19 will be a year from when they called you for your promotion. He seemed surprised that I remembered exactly what date it was.
I've never actually been in jail, but I'd be willing to bet that someone who has been put in there, especially if they were innocent or had just done something STUPID (like I had in agreeing to buy our house)...I bet they'd remember the date they got out. I bet Joseph marked his anniversary every year of going from prison to standing before Pharoah!
Sure my life is still stressful. But I am no longer ISOLATED. I have a church. My husband is home (usually ;-) ). As Gollum says in The Two Towers, "SMEAGOL IS FREEEEEEEEEEE!!!!!!!"
