Lord, Send us a Sign!

If ever we needed a sign, yesterday was the day. Tom was interviewed by U-Haul for a General Manager's position. This would have been a JOB, and that's about all that could be said for it, beyond extreme stress and personality adjustment. There was a part of us that felt like we wanted to just take it and say "YES, he finally has a real job!". Then there was the other part that said, "But where is God in all of this? Are we really trusting God to continue to provide for us and place us in ministry?" Sometimes it would seem so much easier if God was not in this equation. Then we could easily say, we're making this decision based on logic rather than what we believe to be Faith and Trust. Tom and I independantly were praying that SOMEHOW, God would give us a sign to remind us of his provision for us and of his promise to keep us in ministry. The first sign came when I arrived in choir and stuck inside of my choir folder was a card from a dear friend with $100 inside of the card. I found the man and hugged him and quietly said to myself, "THANK YOU for the sign!". Then later that evening after arriving back home, the phone rang and it was a member of a committee from a church in Arkansas that was interested in our coming out there for an interview. Again, I said "THANK YOU for the sign!" We didn't see any billboards or writings on a wall, but our hearts were comforted that God is demanding our obedience and that even though it may be a slow process, God will honor our faithfulness. Tom is calling U-Haul today to decline and we will continue to wait for God to reveal to us where we are headed next on this journey.

I can't believe how inconsistent I have becoming in maintaining this blog! I am ashamed at the way I've allowed this to happen. No matter what, there have been so many times that I've thought "I need to write about this", but it has just remained a blog in my head to try to recall. I will try to remind myself of some events that may be worthy of trying to recount.

I think the most recent event and memorable was our trip this past weekend to Myrtle Beach. Tom and I were asked to judge the Miss Soscatee High School pageant. It was the first time that we had been asked to do anything like this, but we completely loved it. I honestly felt like we were judges from American idol when we were judging the talent. There was some of the most incredible talent that I'd ever seen in a high school pageant. The most amazing talent was a girl with a beautiful spirit in a wheel chair and walker. Jenna, whose goal is to become a pastor or a youth minister, totally let Jesus shine through her in everything she said and did. She told us in her interview that her step mom had helped her to realize that God had given her the spiritual gift of teaching and speaking and that is what she wanted to do. Her talent was a powerpoint presentation she had put together of herself from birth to the present with all of the highs of meeting celebrities to all of the athletic events imaginiable. All of these wonderful scenes to the music of "You Raise Me Up". She was truly an example that beauty goes far deeper than what we see on the outside.

I'm laying here in my bed now nearly asleep, but I would be remise if I didn't stop breifly before approaching dreamland to share this blog. Last nite was an incredible evening as we went HOME to First Baptist Mauldin. We walked in the doors and it was as though the dove of peace landed on our shoulders. We walked into the fellowship hall to eat and could barely get in the door before people were coming to us, grabbing us and telling us how much they loved us, How glad they were to see us and best of all "WELCOME HOMEs". We truly did feel at home. The most precious event happened when we approached the table where some of our closest friends sat. The mother of the friend who is in jail for attempted murder of her husband. With her, sat the rest of the family,including the two beautiful boys of Laura, the one in jail. When the boys saw us, they RAN to us and literally crawled up our bodies hugging us with everything they had. Then the older one pulled away and looked at me and said "Where have you been? I've been looking for you, You've been gone a very long time" It was so special. After supper and the usual rehearsals of which we were involved, we went to Adult Choir. The new minister of music is really very good and there were aspects about him that confirmed why he was more suited than Tom. They both have different types of personalities and gifts, but it is evident that each meets specific needs of the people. We had shared with the Minister of Music during supper of the events that happened to us. He was almost in tears and he even spoke about having a pain in the pit of his stomach as his heart ached for us. Well after going through several pieces in choir, he stopped and asked Tom to come and share what had happened. Then the MofM told the choir "We're going to do something that I feel very led to do. This may take some of you out of your comfort zone, but I feel we should do this." He proceeded to ask for 2 chairs for Tom and me to sit. He asked the choir that if anyone wanted, they could put a hand on us or just encircle us. Nearly the entire choir of probably 50 or more encircled us warming us with love, encouragementant and prayers. The tears began to flow, both from me and from those around us. God showed up and completely confirmed to us that we had made the right decision to be there that night and also confirmed that God was not surprised at this event.

We believe now more than ever that God will provide for us and that he will take care of us completely just as he has up to this point.

Based on the previous blog, you could try to make assumptions as to how our day may have begun today. However, just as God knows who we are and what we need, He chose once again to reveal Himself to us. I read my 'online' devotion this morning and was so blessed as I read about Balaam and the donkey. God used a DONKEY, of all things to show Baalam that he was going in the wrong direction. But the devotion went on to say that God may be doing one of four things when you are faced with an obstacle:

1) He's blocking it to protect you.
2) His timing to complete this stage is not the same as yours,
and He may need you to go through a process of character refinement.
3) He may want other players to get in place,
and the circumstances are not yet ready for them to enter.
4) He may be using the process to develop patience in you.

Relying on the Holy Spirit to know which one applies to your situation is the key to moving in God's timing.

Isn't that just like God...He uses the very circumstances around us to teach us a spiritual truth!