Learning to Trust and Our Little Green House

2 Corinthians 4:17-18

For momentary, light affliction is producing for us an eternal weight of glory far beyond all comparison,

while we look not at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen; for the things which are seen are temporal, but the things which are not seen are eternal.

I should start by saying: The Lord Guides Our Steps. I am always amazed how at the oddest times when you begin to get worried about things and feel far away from God in the weirdest ways you hear Him say, "I'm right here."

I picked up a little devotional book that I hadn't read in a while. I picked up right where I left off and I saw where I had written a prayer out on the page before in response to the previous devotion. 

It said:
Lord, You see the big picture when all I see are my immediate worries.  Thank you for allowing me to see this now! Lord, give me patience to wait and see what you have in store for us. Please don't allow us to be homeless. :) Lord, my life is not my own but Yours. Who am I to be worried over tomorrow. Guide our steps and our thoughts.  May You receive Full Glory for All that happens in our lives.
Dated: 1/24/08

The date weirded me out. I tried to think back to what was going on. Homeless....what was that about? Was I not thinking about 1/24/09 or wait could it have been 1/24/10 or even 1/24/07 or what happened 1/24/06...Remembering all these different dates and the different trials we were in, at all these different times and What the Lord has brought us through. Dang woman! How long is it going to take for me to remember: The Lord's Got this!  Every One of those dates we were going through some sort of trial, but I could not put my finger on what happened 1/24/08. Which was God's intention because I'm embarrassed that it took me a while to remember my favorite trial that He has brought us through. 

We moved into our friends house, Chase and Dana Smith, we had intended to buy it but the Lord providentially closed the door so we continued to rent from them for a little while.  Jax wasn't quite a year old yet and I was starting my first "real" job and it was Killing me to leave him. (But this situation is also what introduced us to Kim and Keith White.Who quickly became some of our best friends.Point being, the blessings God gives in the midst of what we consider trials.)

Chase and Dana were needing to sell the house we were in so we had to find a place, in our price range, which left us Very limited. We were scared that the house could be sold out from under us and they were scared that we would find a house immediately and they would be stuck making 2 house payments.  This started toward the end of September 2007.

One afternoon circumstances left me at the post office a little longer than anticipated.  I was off to the side looking through the newspaper classifieds and on the phone with my mom freaking out over the situation. When I got off the phone with her a gentleman said, "I over heard you're looking for a house." and I said yes. He asked me our price range. I told him $450, feeling foolish even saying it aloud, because I was well aware that it wasn't much. I hate mentioning the price but I really want to emphasize how cool God is! He said, "Oh, I don't think I have anything like that." But he took my name and number anyway.

The next day he called. He said the Lord had laid us on his heart and he couldn't get us off his mind. He had been praying about it and He asked me if we could handle $500 and he began to explain that he had this house, and he felt that it was the one the Lord wanted him to let us have. (As I type this I am choking back tears) He began to describe it as a little house on the corner of Lackey st. and Walker Drive. I thought to myself, wait a second WHAT! I live on Walker Drive. Wait could there be another Lackey and Walker in Shelby?  He kept describing it and he said yeah, it's the Green House on the corner. No Way!

Since we moved into Chase and Dana's I had sat outside in the yard with Jaxson playing and watched them remodel that house. It was adorable. It was silly but Jax and I would go for a stroll and I would walk around it and check it out. I loved it but hadn't thought anything of it. I didn't know it would be for rent.
Well, that was October, he said the house should be finished and ready by December. All the while I was also looking for a job. December passed and we were told 2 more weeks. Okay, two more etc., etc. 

He found out in February that he would have to go up on the rent, which was actually ok, because I had just started my new job. A few more weeks passed.  All this time we were scared to death that the house we were currently in could go under contract or even sell out from under us. We Finally moved in, on March 1st and Chase & Dana's House sold, suddenly for cash on March 18th. They weren't stuck with two payments!

So again I ask myself how many 1/24's are going to have to pass before I learn to fully trust?  How many 2/24's, 3/24's or even 6/6's are going to have to pass before I can assuredly say:

                                        Lam. 3:21-25

This I recall to my mind,
Therefore I have hope.
The LORD’S lovingkindnesses indeed never cease,
For His compassions never fail.
They are new every morning;
Great is Your faithfulness.
“The LORD is my portion,” says my soul,
“Therefore I have hope in Him.”
The LORD is good to those who wait for Him,
To the person who seeks Him.

I encourage you today to look back over your life and reflect on the trials that God has brought you through. Praise Him for being God and for carrying you through when you could not figure out your next step, in your own strength. If you are in the midst of a trial take time to think about the many ways that God is encouraging you and Blessing you along the way. Don't forget that He's Got This! You can't handle it so just accept the daily blessings until the storm clouds clear. His Mercies are New Every Morning!