Hope Springs (Part 3) – All This Time
In my prior post, I described how my family’s last home search took a few months. What I didn’t describe were the circumstances surrounding us at the time.
Prior to relocating, my husband, P.G., and I owned a local business, and since our move would take us three hours away, we decided to put our business up for sale. We had a buyer rather quickly, but the selling process would take some time.
Our daughter was away at college, but we still had our 14-year-old son, Landry, at home with us, who was approaching mid-semester for the school year. Since I had a separate job and could work from our new location, we decided that Landry and I would move before the new semester started, and P.G. would stay behind until the business sale had closed.
We had begun searching for a new home over a month prior but had no prospects at the time of our planned move. My in-laws, who were located in the school district in which Landry would be enrolling, graciously opened their home to Landry and me (and our three dogs) so that we would have a place to stay while we continued our home search.
We had hoped to find a new home sooner rather than later, but that was not how things unfolded – it would take a few months more. And it proved to be a blessing in disguise. For during the process, God provided what we didn’t even know we needed.
Our family had already been through a lot prior to the move, as had I personally, and I was exhausted from swimming in this ocean of difficulties and sufferings, which I was still in the midst of. And now furthermore, with P.G. living apart from us, I was parenting solo while working a full-time job (requiring travel and long hours), moving, finding a new home, adjusting to a new location, and getting Landry settled in at a new school, plus a few unanticipated circumstances.
For one, Landry suffered multiple illnesses during this time – as did I, including a prolonged battle with kidney stones. At the same time, I had an unsuspecting encounter with a painful situation from my past. And last but not least, I found myself the unwitting victim of identity theft.
Family hardships, personal struggles, single-parenting, demanding job, relocation, new home search, new environment, new school, multiple illnesses, persistent kidney stones, resurfacing of painful past, identity theft … it was hard to catch my breath. And as wave after wave washed over me, it became hard to keep my head above water, to stay afloat and not drown in a sea of discouragement.
But I refused to lose hope. Hope was my life raft, so I clung to it and refused to let go. I kept myself tethered to God’s promises and looked to Him as the lighthouse that would guide me safely ashore.
And until I reached the shore, I trusted God to provide refuge in the storm.
And part of that refuge came through staying with my in-laws. All this time, we had wanted things to unfold sooner, but God knew better. God knew all we would be faced with during this time, and if we had found a new home sooner, navigating that move and going it alone on top of everything else might have just been the wave that crushed us.
But instead, Landry and I remained safe in the shelter of my in-laws’ home, a buffer from the storm. Where we had reinforcement and fortification. Where we had companionship and reassurance. Where we were loved and cared for.
The Bible says that God knows what we have need of before we even ask – and often God knows what we have need of before we even know ourselves. More than a home of our own, Landry and I needed comfort and support. And that’s exactly what we received through our stay with my in-laws.
When we finally found a home of our own, the week of our closing ended up being the same week that P.G. wrapped things up at our business. So when we moved into our new home, P.G. was able to move with us. And we were never alone.
God’s timing is perfect. He is never late, never early, but always on time. If we will only continue hoping and trusting in Him, He will provide what we need most just when we need it.
And whatever we are faced with during the waiting and however long the waiting endures, we can rest assured that all this time, God is working things out for our good and His glory.
“Remember, your Father [God] knows exactly what you need even before you ask Him!” Matthew 6:8 (TLB)
“Now faith is confidence in what we hope for and assurance about what we do not see.” Hebrews 11:1 (NIV)
