A Change In the Wind

When God calms the storms of life, blessings follow....

Wow, what a week! At one point I was playing host to a multitude of personalities. I was happy one moment, and crying the next. I was thanking God for leading us, and then angry the next day for being too silent. My main prayer these past few weeks has been for God to open a door of opportunity for my husband to find work. We are going on our second week of unemployment, and not one single phone call or lead has been returned. The truth of the matter is that we have one month before we completely run out of funds. I have called out to God several times, pleading that he allow my husband work before that happens. Surely God knows the situation at hand, yet he remains fairly silent. The other night while eating my Top Ramen Noodles at the dinner table, I broke down and entered into a good cry fest. Every girl needs one once in awhile! I actually told God that I was angry and confused. For weeks I have been sick, tired, and stressed. I keep wondering how much more my body could take both mentally and physically. As tears dripped into my dinner bowl (as if my Top Ramen didn't already have enough sodium!), I felt my heart sink with disappointment. Disappointed that things aren't coming together as I wish they would. After finally pulling myself together, I ended my sulking with, "I still trust you God. You are in control."

Although God has not answered our prayer for employment yet, God has open doors in different directions. These doors have led to other blessing. Through the blessing of Social Services and the program assistance they offer, I am now able to feed my family in a healthy manner each day. A big relief, as that is an expense we no longer have to endure with zero income. It took setting all pride aside and accepting the fact that we indeed do need help during this difficult time. If you had asked me a year ago, or even a few months ago if I would ever be on Food Stamps, I would have laughed at you. Now, here I sit grateful and humbled for such a service. We have been blessed through friends and family as well. From simple invites to dinner to assistance with bills, the generosity of few has left us stunned. Thank you!

Another door was just opened for us. Although this door will not deliver immediate results, it was an answer to my husband's dream. Last year, he wrote a Christian Sci-Fi book called "Defender". You can check it out at Defender . Earlier in the year he submitted the manuscript to a few Literary Agencies. After a few declines, he received word from an agency last night. They have signed him on with a contract to represent him to the publishers. This is a huge step, as publishers will only accepting manuscripts through agencies. This has also motivated me to finish my book, "Bouquet" (a Christian Chick Lit novel)! I am about 3/4 the way done with it and have been sitting on it for a few months, debating whether this was the right time to jump in. With my husband's foot now in the door, I feel like this may be the time to push mine to completion as well. To read a brief teaser to my book go to Bouquet .

It amazes me that each time I start to feel defeated and hopeless, God gives just a small enough nudge to keep me going. Just as I don't hand everything in life to my children, God has me working toward things in life as well. He continues to place opportunity in front of us and then steps back for a bit. Even through the silent moments and darker days, it is clear that He is still present in our current hardship, and He is still leading us. With these new doors opened for us, I feel a change in the wind. I reckon' that more is to come soon! In the mean time, we keep on trusting and persevering.