Preparing the Way

I hate driving at night. Maybe it is because I do not have binocular vision. Maybe the inadequate headlights on my car have something to do with it. Maybe it is because I don't do it that often. Whatever the reason, I just don't like it. What's worse than driving at night? Driving at night on snowy roads! This doesn't happen to me often, but it was the case last Friday night while returning home from a night out with a near and dear friend. The twenty-five minute trip home was terribly unpleasant. I was praying nearly the whole way home while trying to stay focused on the white line. A deer on my edge of the road nearly gave me a coronary! I was extremely thankful for one thing: that other cars had gone before me to prepare the way. It made my drive, although still difficult, a little easier. I was so relieved to have someone else's tracks to follow in, instead of having to forge a new path.

The same thing has happened in our lives recently. On Friday, February 1st, hubster was "laid off". It wasn't anything personal. The company owners told him what a hard worker he is & what a great employee that he had been. They said they tried to hold off as long as they could, but they couldn't hold off any longer. They gave him a small severance {our first big blessing in a string of many} and there were three other severance checks on the desk. He wasn't the only one. They told him they would give him a good reference and would do whatever they could to help him if he needed it.

I. Was. Shocked. I knew changes were coming. He had told me so. I was thinking: promotion! Hubster sat me down and broke the news. {Note to self: Next time someone sits me down to tell me something, run, don't walk to the nearest exit.} My mental tape basically stopped and I sat there wondering what happened to my anticipated promotion. I never considered that maybe God had something better in mind. We had gone through job loss before, when I was 8 months pregnant with baby #2, just 3 short years ago. It did make this time a little easier, but nonetheless, stressful.

I had decided a long time ago that it would take much more than this to shake my faith, although, I don't want to test my limits! I knew that God would take care of us. Somehow. I am thankful that hubby would periodically be thinking about a Plan B. Now and again, he would come home telling me that if he ever lost his job, he would do such & such. I didn't think that we would ever need Plan B. The very next day, hubby had a meeting with a business contact/friend that he had made by networking at the old job. And over dinner, he announced his plan to start his own business. His business contact would be his first client. And so it was settled. He would start "working" in one week, from home no less! {My first thought was: Am I going to have to cook 3 meals a day for you??}

In less than a week, we had a business name, we incorporated, received our tax ID number, created business cards & hubby started working for himself. I know that this would not have been possible had God not gone before us to "prepare the way". Everything fell into place so nicely, it was almost hard to believe. It still all seems to good to be true. As hubby puts it, we are still waiting for someone to "torpedo our boat". Ever feel that way? Like God has given you something or done something for you that really is UNbelievable?

So that is where we stand. Feeling undeserving, yet nervous and excited all at the same time. Hubby can't wait to be able to work at the park and the beach and the McDonald's playland while enjoying his children. {He doesn't need to be at home for this job, just available by cell phone.} I can't wait for him to enjoy homeschooling with the kids by giving guitar or Spanish lessons. We both can't wait to see what God has in store for us next!

Jeremiah 33:3 ~ "For I know the plans I have for you," declares the Lord. "Plans to prosper you and not to harm you. Plans for a hope and a future."