The Lord has been working in our lives in the most magnificent ways this past year. As sure as you're saved, when you start any work for the Lord, the Devil will do all he can to undermine it. But the blessings far outweigh any trials that we go through on our Lord's behalf.
It all really began about four years ago. I was so tired of living a mediocre Christian life and just one result of that was having a mediocre marriage. Up to that point I really did think that if Josh would just get his heart and life right, we would be fine. I truly thought I was doing everything that I could to have a happy life. But now I'm convinced that all along, it was me that wasn't right. I was going through the motions of doing all the right things and praying faithfully, and wondering why the Lord didn't seem to be hearing me. The only thing I wasn't doing was being submissive to Josh. I mean reverencing him. Oh,I never did anything that was blatantly insubmissive like refusing to do something that he asked me to do just because I maybe thought that he didn't have a right to make me do it. But I didn't treat him as I would a king. When I was pregnant with Dillon I fully realized my mistake and I begged God to forgive me. From that day on, all of my prayers have been answered! Every last one. God is so real, and He's so great. I trust Him completely with all that I am and all that I have.
A little over a year ago we began attending Gospel Baptist Church. The Pastor and people are like family to us, and we love them all dearly. Josh came from a very closely knit church family, and has been missing it ever since. The Lord has been making miraculous changes in our lives, and I just praise Him for that! Josh is so on fire for the Lord now, and is anxious to obey Him at every opportunity.
The past two months, the Lord has really been impressing upon my heart that Josh should go back to visit his family sometime soon. For various reasons it hasn't worked out until....today. This morning before he left for work, I asked Josh if he'd given any more thought to going out to see his Dad, and he said that he hadn't and asked why I was asking. I couldn't give him a logical explanation other than that I really felt that the Lord wanted me to encourage him to go as soon as possible. He left for work and about an hour later called me and asked me to look up flights for this weekend. The Lord recently convicted Josh about the use of credit cards though, so that idea was quickly replaced with him driving the van instead and taking two of the kids along. He came home fifteen minutes later, and left within a half an hour. When he got home, I told him that I hoped I wasn't just being paranoid and sending him on a wild goose chase, and this is what he told me: "I have nothing to lose by going. When I was in college, I remember going up into the loft and just pleading with God to give me a good job so I could pay my bill. When I got back to my room, there was a note on my bed with a telephone number for a job interview. At the time it didn't seem like the best option, and I felt I could do better. So the next day I went and got a paper route and shortly after that I got another job in addition to the paper route. I can't help, but wonder how differently things would have turned out if I had just obeyed God and trusted Him with the outcome. I don't want another regret like that. If the Lord leads me to go somewhere, I'm going." Josh and I have both learned through the years not to take for granted a woman's God-given intuition as well. I can't tell you how many times I've "just known" something with no logical explanation whatsoever to back it up, and been right. With that also comes heavy responsibility and accountability though so I don't take it lightly.
So Josh, Jordan, and Dillon (their Teddy Bear Boy) are headed to Iowa today to surprise Gramma Connie and Papa Ron. I wish I could be there to see the expressions on their faces when they arrive. In the meantime, I'll be planting raspberries and blueberries, and just chillin' with AliaBeth, Nathan, and Isaac. It's fun to serve the Lord, and I'm excited to see what the future holds for my sweet husband.
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