Confident that God will provide.

My husband was laid off from his job this morning. Ugh. No fun for anyone.

So we will pray, live, and grow through this. I’m convinced we’ll be alright. But for him this means worrying about finances and providing for his family (which to me seems to generally be something men worry about more so than women). My ministry salary is now the bread-winning money for the fam until he finds something new.

Resumes. Job searching. His bosses provided him with a list of companies with positions open for now. I remember agonizing over resume writing and interviewing and whether to take a ministry job, non-profit position, work retail, stay at home, or go on for seminary. Wondering does this mean we relocate or stay and will we need to sell our home? will it even sell today? Will we have to go bankrupt? Still have student loans, mortgage, car loans, some credit card debt, etc like most people our age. Oh and daycare for the girls. Do we keep them in or take them out – We pay for 4 days a week for both but maybe we take Katie out and Keep Ellie in for 3 days for the Preschool education?  Maybe I bring Katie to work with me while Doug job hunts. Not the easiest thing to do with a 21 month old child, but I guess we’ll make it work if we have to.

So all of this happening this morning and I’m off to host a retreat with Erick with middle school boys from Lake City Pres. We are participating in World Vision’s 30 Hour Famine. Tonight we’ll join Overlake Christian Church in Redmond and two other church groups for a rally, worship, games, band, movie, etc. Then tomorrow is devoted to serving Seattle Stop, Drop, and Roll. It is a ministry through the Seattle Mennonite Church that works to give homeless persons a place to stop for a meal, drop off their stuff in a safer place than the street, and provides bus tickets, etc to help them get on their way to a better place in their lives. We’ll be helping them out with some spring cleaning, not so much hands on feeding people but it will help this ministry better minister to our homeless brothers and sisters. 

I asked Doug whether he wants me to stay or go and he says to go. I think i’ll be going into this with a different perspective than I would have yesterday… but know that we still are rich and have options in comparison to the oppressed and hungry children and adults in our world. Just one more way for God to bring us closer to him… to have to rely on Him more fully… trust more fully… and love others more fully than ever before. It will not be easy but we’ll be OK. I’m confident of it.

God will provide, He always has and He always will.

For some reason a 13th Century song of Saint Francis of Assisi comes to mind:

The Peace Prayer of Saint Francis

“O Lord, make me an instrument of Thy Peace!
Where there is hatred, let me sow love.
Where there is injury, pardon.
Where there is discord, harmony.
Where there is doubt, faith.
Where there is despair, hope.
Where there is darkness, light.
Where there is sorrow, joy.

Oh Divine Master, grant that I may not 
so much seek to be consoled as to console; 
to be understood as to understand; 
to be loved as to love; 
for it is in giving that we receive; 
it is in pardoning that we are pardoned; 
and it is in dying that we are born to Eternal Life.”

Amen.

I Googled for a youtube music version and found something by Sarah McLachlan