It's All In The Details

I really appreciate you all taking the time to call, email, or leave comments on facebook and my blog. You have no idea what an encouragement that is to all of us. For those of you just passing by or who have recently started reading I'll give you a simple recap of our situation.

My parents were recently convicted of conspiracy against the I*R*S* for putting their assets into a trust for my sister and I instead of a will. Even though the trusts are public record and they had no problem identifying what each trust contained for the purpose of the trial, they accused my parents of choosing a trust as a means of hiding assets. My parents were also convicted of failure to file taxes that they do not lawfully nor constitutionally owe. They have always been upstanding, law-abiding citizens in every respect. The judge even said during sentencing that they were the most unlikely couple he has ever had in his courtroom.

Today my mom was transported from the local county jail. We have no idea where they are taking her next, but our prayer is that she will go directly to the minimum security prison rather than another county jail. We may not know where she is for several days since collect calls from prison are ridiculously expensive. She'll probably write a letter instead. (She called briefly last night to let me know that she is now in Great Falls and she's doing fabulous. That's all we know.)

I feel like I am positively reeling from all that has taken place this past week.

On May 4th Josh was contacted about a job for a company he had put a resume in for about a year and a half ago. They scheduled the first of the three step interview process for that afternoon. Later that day they called to schedule the second one. It was set for Wednesday afternoon.

With my sister's unexpected arrival the night before, that Wednesday was a very busy day. A friend from church had sweetly offered to watch the kids for my sister and I so we could to go visit my mom that afternoon, and it wasn't until the last minute that we realized Josh was going to be on the phone for his interview during that time. Even though it took place here at home in the midst of chaos it still went really well.

The next day they called asking if it were possible for Josh to fly out to Minneapolis that coming Friday.

Since Amy and Johnny were here that wasn't an option, although the first thing Amy did say when she heard was, "Why don't you go while Johnny and I are here to watch the kids?" So sweet of her, but we rarely get to see them as it is. :)

The initial plan the company proposed was flying Josh there and back on the 17th, but Josh mentioned that I had never seen the area and we would both enjoy the opportunity to look around for a good church. They readily agreed to fly us out of Billings first thing Friday morning, put us up in the Hampton Inn for Friday and Saturday night, and then fly us home late Sunday night. The HR lady referred to the flight home as "bad news", but Josh quickly reassured her that it was perfect since we would then be able to attend the evening church service, too!

Details.

In the meantime, Pepper decided to get stingy with her toys and anything else she doesn't think Snickers should have, resulting in puncture wounds on Snicker's snout. She's lucky I didn't kill her with my bare hands on the spot. Instead, I asked Josh to get rid of her while my sister and I went away on an overnight trip to Chico Hot Springs and Spa, which, by the way, was generously sponsored by my brother-in-law (for Mother's Day, he said, but I have a sneaking suspicion it's just because he's a really great guy.)

When I got back, Pepper was still here.

In my heart of hearts I was glad, but it is just one more thing to deal with. One more thing to break my heart. How is it possible to love her so much, and yet hate her at the same time?

My parent's are in prison, I may have to give a beloved dog away, and we face a potential move to Wisconsin and all the major decisions that entails. All life-changing. All a lot to deal with at one time. There were several moments when it was just too much.

But He is my sufficiency.

By His grace I said goodbye to my sister, got everyone, including Snickers, ready for a weekend away from home, and managed to get on the plane little knowing what a blessed time awaited me.

I love to fly. I liked it a whole lot more before 9-11, but once we got on the plane the fun began. We had separate seats, but the lady next to Josh was happy to move. I got the window seat both ways. ;)

Getting off in Minneapolis was an adventure. That is a huge airport. We only had two hours from the time we arrived until Josh's interview, so we had to hurry. Once we finally found our luggage poor Josh had to carry it all from one end to the other. Since we rarely have the opportunity to travel we don't have the new-fangled kind you can pull behind you. :)

The first surprise we got was our rental car. Josh walked to where he thought it was located, and had to check and double check his ticket. Sure enough we got a blue PT Cruiser. No mileage limit, and it's a good thing. We spent approximately 18 hours in that car. Since it was parked in a parking garage we didn't realize how bright the color was until we got to our hotel.

Smurf blue. Yep, that pretty much describes it. Come to think of it, it even kinda looks like a smurf. Huh. Jordan's comment when he saw it was, "Well, that's ugly. Oh, unless....did you like it mom?" Ha ha! He's so sweet. It was an awesome conversation piece, and we got many jokes about making it a point to tell people it was a rental, and that we had no say in the matter.

The second surprise we got was our BEAUTIFUL hotel room. The first thing you see when you walk in is the indirect lighting above the alcove desk. The next thing you can't help but notice is the large flat screen tv. Then the gorgeous king size bed and pillows are irresistibly inviting. They were unbelievably comfortable, too. And it was quiet. So much thought went into these rooms. At the foot of the bed was a little laminated letter with a mini Twix bar on it. Josh picked it up and immediately said, "It's a sign!" I. Love. Twix!

Details.

I couldn't help thinking, though, of the vast difference between what I was experiencing, and what my parent's were experiencing. It was bittersweet. Oh, the tears and prayers that went up for them in that bed. We begged God to let their beds be as comfortable, and their pillows as soft each night. (It wasn't until my mom got out of prison that we found out that they had one thin Army blanket each and no pillow at all.)

We also asked God to guide us every step of the way. My on-going prayer for the last few weeks has been the right response and claiming God's promise to make our path straight. As always, He answered abundantly.

Josh's interview went supernaturally well. God got him where he needed to be right on time, and all three of his interviewers loved him. Towards the end they all were talking as if he already had the job.

On Saturday Josh decided to take the back roads to Eau Claire, WI so we could see the countryside. On the interstate it's a 1 1/2 hour drive. It's considerably longer the way we took, but so picturesque. Here are just a few pictures.




As we got closer to Eau Claire, Josh happened to look to his right. Lo and behold, there was the church we had planned on visiting! We drove straight to it even though we took the back roads. We couldn't believe it. And there were people there! They were having a workday.

The pastor greeted us at the door and proceeded to take the next hour out of their workday to show us around the building and tell us all about God's work there. Josh later said that it was like looking into a mirror. Personality-wise they are very much alike, but they have enough differences that Josh could see them working well together. He even invited us to stay and have pizza for lunch with them! We had found several houses for sale by owner that we were able to get in to look at that afternoon, so we had to decline, but, wow, that was so nice of him.

He gave us detailed directions to Sonic instead, but when we got back in the car we couldn't really remember much of what he had said. There were several turns that we had to make and...we ended up driving straight to it. When we got our food Josh decided that he would like to eat it at a park, but we had no idea where to find one. He started driving, made a few more turns distractedly while we were talking, and, yep, you guessed it, in disbelief we realized that we had ended up at a beautiful park where we were able to sit in our car right by a river lined with trees to enjoy our lunch. We could hardly eat though as we began to list all the things God has done for us lately. We were overcome by God's goodness in every area.

We drove back to Minneapolis for the night, packed, and went to bed in preparation for the drive back to Eau Claire early the next morning.

We made it just on time for Sunday School. On the way in I got to meet the Pastor's wife whom had been out with her sister getting supplies while we had been there the day before. I liked her instantly. She has a beautiful smile and you can't help but see her sincerity. It was almost as if I already knew her. Weird.

In between services the head usher came and made us feel welcome. The first thing he said was that from the looks of our visitor's card we'd fit right in. Many of the families of the church have several children. One has nine! He even invited us and the kids over to his house if/when we move for some fishing and outdoor games. He doesn't know us from Adam! He then introduced us to several other people that we were surprisingly comfortable visiting with. Some of them had either worked here in Montana, had family here, or were heading here. One lady even said that she hoped we moved there because then it would be like some of her family was moving back home. How sweet is that?!

Both services were excellent. Very down to earth, and full of wisdom. Afterward the Pastor invited us out to lunch with his family and his wife's sister and her family whom had just moved up from Texas that weekend to begin serving in the music ministry, and youth group. What an honor that was! We were not expecting that at all, and I can't tell you how excited we were about it. :) When he drove around the corner for us to follow him, Josh and I burst out laughing, and said, "It's a sign!" His car is a replica of our Pastor's car. A brown Chevy Impala. The perfect car for a Pastor. :)

It was wonderful! We were so comfortable, and relaxed, and enjoyed every minute of it. It was a joy to get to know them better. We have so many things in common. They were home schooled, we were home schooled, they home school, we home school, they had all their babies at home, and so did we, they've lost babies, and so have we. We knew some of the same people...it was just so of God.

That night the Pastor asked the church to pray with and for us concerning the decisions we are going to have to make soon. A very nice older gentleman in the back raised his hand and requested that they take the time to pray about it right then. Pastor Hallett agreed and asked him to stand and pray. He asked for God to give us clear direction and wisdom, that He would lead and guide every step of the way, and that, even though he knew he was praying selfishly, that God would lead us and allow us to serve with them there. It was so touching and heartfelt. When he was done he turned to us with tears in his eyes, and saw that there were tears in mine, too. It was like we were family, and I didn't even know his name.

The message "just happened" to be about finding God's will. God knew it was exactly what we needed to hear. At the invitation Josh took me by the hand and led me to the altar where we laid everything....my parents, his job, our house, our ministries here....all of it was left at His feet. It was so freeing.

Pastor Hallett made it a point to be finished in time for us to be able to say goodbye to people before we had to rush off to catch our flight all the way back in Minneapolis. (We put a ton of miles on that little car in those three days.) Again, so nice of him! Even after we got out the door, a lady came running out to tell us how much she enjoyed meeting us and having us there, and how she hoped we'd be back to stay soon. The tears began to flow, and they continued as we drove back to the airport and even sporadically as I'd remember things on the plane ride home.

Who are we? To them we are nobody, and yet they loved us, and we loved them. How is that possible upon such short acquaintance? It was all God.

He is the God of the details.