A year ago today, I was sitting in my living room on the phone with my mom (who I talk to at least once a day...and she lives five minutes away!) and the front door opened. Tom was home from work at 10:30 in the morning. My thought was, "oh no, he's sick", but in reality, he had lost his job. He was told that they were "restructuring" and didn't need him. He had recently been promoted and been given a decent pay increase so I am sure that played into it, but it doesn't really matter. He no longer had a job and I was a stay-at-home mom. No income.
I quickly hung up the phone, and started to panic.
We just looked at each other. I cried, I'm sure, but I don't remember. At the time, I was about 8 weeks pregnant with Levi and we hadn't told anyone yet (partially because I was still in shock about that!) Then Tom went for a walk. He prayed. I prayed. And the panic started to ease.
I never cease to be amazed at how God clearly has a plan for us that is so much better than our own. Also, how when we hand Him the reigns, our anxieties can drop away from us.
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(for those of you who don't know, Tom has been working on his undergrad for the past five years and was scheduled to graduate in the Spring of 2015)
...2 hours later we had it all figured out! It's funny to say that but it kind of did work that way.
Once again, God's timing is perfect. it just so happened, that it was the last day that could add classes to his schedule. With a lot of figuring, we realized that if he went back to full-time status at school, between grants, scholarships, the money that the VA was giving him (from his Army days) and unemployment, he could stay home, get a LOT of school done much more quickly AND we would not lose one penny of income. CRAZY!
So here we are, one year later. He was home for 9 months, did school full-time in the spring and summer, got an amazing Co-Op job for a great company making more than he did at his previous place of employment, and miracle of all miracles, Tom started his last semester of his undergraduate degree this week. He will graduate in May with a Bachelors' in Computer Science (don't ask me what that means!). So now, we hope and pray that he will find the perfect fit job for him as this semester draws to a close.
It is just amazing how God held us in His hands, gave us peace even when those around us doubted the plan we had come up with, and continues to guide us daily...sometimes with surprises that we could not have even imagined.
If he had lost his job a week earlier, we would not have been able to pay the bills. One day later and full time school (and therefore extra income) would never have been possible.
Last week, Tom came home from his co-op and said, "I could do this job for the rest of my life and love it". Not many wives get to hear that and I feel blessed.
So friends, be encouraged. If something is happening in your life right now and you cannot see a way out, know that God is holding you in his hands. He is not going to let you go. He has a plan for you. Rely on Him alone.
P.S. If anyone knows of any computer programming jobs, I know a really great guy that is full of integrity!
Amazon is hiring! But then, you wouldn't live five minutes from your mom anymore. :)
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