Memorial Box Monday Tuesday

Memorial Box Monday is a time to remember God's faithfulness in our lives. This was started by Linny, visit her blog and read the amazing stories she shares and go to the links to read heartwarming stories on other blogs.

This Memorial Box post started when my husband and I came to realize that we were in a rut. Though he had a wonderful job working for a wonderful Christian man, with a crew of guys that needed salt and light, there wasn't much room for advancement to help support a growing family. Nor was he making enough in the first place for us to be able to do things like adopt. Nor was it a job he could continue while also returning to school. We realize that though we were comfortable we needed to make some changes.

We feel led to adoption and possibly foster parenting. We feel led to help work alongside some great missionaries to Africa... somehow... someway.

We want to serve God with all that we have no matter what He asks of us.

Though making a fortune is not important to us at all... we have come to realize that we do need a better financial situation in order to fulfill the calling that God has set on our hearts. Something that we know only God could provide for us so we set to praying. I heard somewhere along the way "pray like everything depends on God, and work like everything depends on you." It resounded deep within me and we prayed like crazy, we talked through some crazy ideas, and basically told God we would do anything he wanted from us.

No.Matter.What. ( Yes those three little words scare me! )

We came up with a plan A and a plan B. Plan A included a job arrangement. The job arrangement was for my Hubby to be working for a trucking company. He was going to sign with a company that would pay to train him and help him get his CDL, in turn he would have to work for them one year. As you know his mother died this past year. She had a trucking business that we are hoping to take over after working in the industry for that one year. The idea was that he would take a correspondence course from Liberty University while driving this year earning an associates degree in a ministry related field. He would have plenty of time for studying and plenty of people to witness and minister to out on the road at various truck stops and so forth. Afterward he would be able to own his own business and be able to better work around a job in the ministry much easier than he is able to with his current job. More financially independent and flexible we could follow God's calling no matter where He led. Possibly being able to work around going to school and then getting to work in the ministry again. Possibly working and saving up enough money to go and spend half of each year in Africa. Possibly working and saving up enough money to build/buy my dream house in the country and fill it to overflowing with abandoned and hurting children that just need to know the love of a family and the love of a Savior. Possibly to just work sharing the word of God over the highways of this Nation. Endless possibilities that God could work out the perfect plan from.

Our plan B was nothing more than an outline of a plan. For Josh to go to school and work an afternoon/night job and then we would in turn move wherever in the country he could get a decent job. Trusting that God would put us where Josh can support our family and work in the ministry God has for him.

Prayerfully we set plan A into motion. The last day at his old job my hubby found out that a ticket he got several years ago would keep him from pursuing this route after all. We immediately acknowledged that God had closed this door for us and were grateful that He was sparing us from something through this closed door. The ticket Josh got was for speeding and he was pulled over on the edge of a town right as the speed changes. He literally was in the process of slowing down but was clocked right at 20 over. As a result he is uninsurable by the trucking company. My sister got pulled over in the exact same spot the night before and only got a warning. We were confident that God knew then we would need this door closed today. However, we now have to resort to plan B and we don't have much time to prepare or work things out.

Jobless. Everything looked hopeless but we didn't stop praying and trusting. His first day without a job he filled out the FAFSA and started to look into starting school at Mid-Continent in hopes that if he went out on a limb and started working toward the ministry degree he longs for we would somehow find a job situation that would work. At the end of the day we sat in bed talking and praying. A question came up.

How do we know God closed this door for sure? Could satan just be using this as a stumbling block because he doesn't want this (plan A) to happen?

How in the world do you answer that? It completely threw us for a loop! For the better part of a week we prayed constantly looked at colleges, looked for jobs, and were pleading for answers. A full week after his last day of work a family member who is on the police force in another state told us to go to the courthouse and request traffic school for a reduction of points on my hubby's license. Closed door? Stumbling block? Should we? Shouldn't we? It was driving me absolutely nut-so! After a completely sleepless night tossing and turning it came to me.

If God shuts a door it doesn't no matter how hard you try. No matter what you do, a door God closes stays closed. Period. Stumbling blocks, on the other hand, can potentially be maneuvered around.

With this thought I finally fell into a peaceful sleep. As soon as I opened my eyes in the morning I shared this thought with my hubby who immediately left for the courthouse. He ended up getting a court date for the very next morning! AFTER he was told it could be a week or more before he could get in to see a judge. He literally sat in that court room all stinking morning until he was the ONLY one left in the whole courtroom. The judge after reviewing his record and taking time to talk to Josh completely dropped the ticket. No traffic school. No reduced points. All in time for him to start his CDL training the very next Monday. Completely Miraculous. Just like that it was back to plan A.

So here we are six hours from home in a hotel room with no hot water and a bathtub that is always on no matter how hard you try to turn it off! I'm stinking tired of moving rooms though so I think we're going to put up with cold showers and running bathtubs. Ha! My hubby is at class and last I heard he took a pre-test and only missed 2 questions after only one night of studying! While microwaving our dinner in the hotel's kitchen last night I met a couple who I talked with for a LONG time. I am physically incapable of making small talk with strangers so I am pumped. God is working through this situation. To HIM be the glory. This will be a hard and trying year for us but it will also be rewarding. I am amazed at how many hurting lonely people we have met already! Please pray for us... pray for wisdom as we continue to make decisions both big and small. Pray that God will give us the right words to minister to the people we meet along the way. Pray that I won't go completely crazy in this little hotel room trying to entertain my sweet babies.

Praising Jesus for our answered question and wondering what we should put in our future memorial box to remember this always. Do you have any suggestions?