Ahh! It is hard to believe that today marks the LAST day of 2014! To say that this year has been life-changing would be a bit of an understatement. It is kind of overwhelming when I reflect on all that God has done over the past 12 months. I have worked at 3 different jobs this year, lived in 4 different homes, changed my last name, and moved to the opposite side of the country! I am the type of person that does best with routine so you can imagine with all the changes that have occurred how insecure I felt at times. But the amazing thing about it all is that when God has the reins of your life there is a profound peace that accompanies the journey. In my times of doubt, the miracles (however big or small) that have been performed have always led me back to the conclusion that we are where God would have us to be at this stage. In this post, I'd like to highlight some of the most memorable occasions of this year....
1. God's Protection
My husband and I were married on April 5 of this year and it was truly a wonderful and joyous day. The week or so prior, southern Indiana had been drenched with lots of rain and flooding. God had stopped the rain by the time Saturday came and gave us a beautiful day. But for our honeymoon night we traveled 2 hours even further south to stay at a historic hotel. A problem arose when the GPS (an old TOMTOM) took us off the main highway onto a county road (a.k.a.- country back in the sticks road). Now we were close to Kentucky so we were traveling on hilly, narrow roads and it was going to be getting dark in a few hours. I got even more anxious when we passed a high water sign and was hoping we would reach our destination soon. We climbed a hill and as we reached the bottom a most shocking sight met us. The ENTIRE road had been washed out and now looked to be a part of the river. (My heart still skips a beat as I recall this memory.) Thankfully, we had not reached the water, and there was a house right by us where we could turn around. As we headed back up the hill, we took a right at the bend and saw an old truck with what looked to be like some "mountain" men. Lol We asked for directions back to the main drag, an lo and behold we were like a mile from our hotel.
That story is kind of fun to tell now, but I can't imagine what would've happened if God had not been watching out for a little newlywed couple that afternoon. He gave us a safe and happy honeymoon. (Although we did have a couple more odd things happen-maybe I'll tell you about it another time)
2. God's Provision
Before we made our move to New Mexico in August, we came out for a visit in July to look for places to live and to meet the church family. A realtor from the church gave us a list of apartments to look at on our own time, and then later that day we were going to look at houses with him. We walked through some nice apartments, but the prices were about 800 to over 1,ooo a month. That was more than what we wanted to pay for a temporary living space. We looked at several houses that afternoon, and narrowed it down to two -the first one we saw and I think the second to last one we looked at. After finding out some things about the second one, we decided to eliminate it and put in an offer for the first house. We went back to Indiana, all the while praying and believing that God would provide. To make a long story short, after weeks of turning in letters, bank statements, signed documents, and so on- it looked like the house was going to be ours.
The owners turned out to be Christians, and when they heard about our story and the fact that we needed a place to live by August 4th, agreed to let us rent it until we closed. That alone is pretty unheard of because it puts the owners at risk and they are at a liability. When we arrived at the house, a house-warming card and dinner was waiting for us. They treated us very kindly, and believed that God had sent them the right couple to buy their house. After a few bumps in the road, we were able to close with only a little money down at the end of September. It was truly a "God-thing" that we could've never done on our own!
3. God's Plan
Both my husband and I have learned a great deal in our first nine months of marriage, our first semester of teaching, our first time as staff members at a church and the list goes on. God has a plan for us as a couple, and Lord-willing eventually a family. He has a plan for me as an individual. There will be opportunities in 2015 that He will give me that I don't want to miss out on. I have specific areas that I want to work on in the new year, but I certainly do not want MY own plans to be put ahead of what God has for me now. As cliche as those resolutions may be, we should always be striving to be better. Even if you are not struggling with the same things as someone else, don't be low and make fun of them! Encourage and inspire them to keep going. I would MUCH rather be the one to keep someone from quitting than to get some "likes" on a meme that you post that makes fun of their efforts.
*All in all, the ups (a new marriage, a new house, a new church) have definitely out-weighed the downs (moving away from all family, losing my precious grandma) and I can go on and on about God's goodness. I don't know what 2015 will hold, but it is great to know that we're not alone in this crazy thing called life! :)
1. God's Protection
My husband and I were married on April 5 of this year and it was truly a wonderful and joyous day. The week or so prior, southern Indiana had been drenched with lots of rain and flooding. God had stopped the rain by the time Saturday came and gave us a beautiful day. But for our honeymoon night we traveled 2 hours even further south to stay at a historic hotel. A problem arose when the GPS (an old TOMTOM) took us off the main highway onto a county road (a.k.a.- country back in the sticks road). Now we were close to Kentucky so we were traveling on hilly, narrow roads and it was going to be getting dark in a few hours. I got even more anxious when we passed a high water sign and was hoping we would reach our destination soon. We climbed a hill and as we reached the bottom a most shocking sight met us. The ENTIRE road had been washed out and now looked to be a part of the river. (My heart still skips a beat as I recall this memory.) Thankfully, we had not reached the water, and there was a house right by us where we could turn around. As we headed back up the hill, we took a right at the bend and saw an old truck with what looked to be like some "mountain" men. Lol We asked for directions back to the main drag, an lo and behold we were like a mile from our hotel.
That story is kind of fun to tell now, but I can't imagine what would've happened if God had not been watching out for a little newlywed couple that afternoon. He gave us a safe and happy honeymoon. (Although we did have a couple more odd things happen-maybe I'll tell you about it another time)
2. God's Provision
Before we made our move to New Mexico in August, we came out for a visit in July to look for places to live and to meet the church family. A realtor from the church gave us a list of apartments to look at on our own time, and then later that day we were going to look at houses with him. We walked through some nice apartments, but the prices were about 800 to over 1,ooo a month. That was more than what we wanted to pay for a temporary living space. We looked at several houses that afternoon, and narrowed it down to two -the first one we saw and I think the second to last one we looked at. After finding out some things about the second one, we decided to eliminate it and put in an offer for the first house. We went back to Indiana, all the while praying and believing that God would provide. To make a long story short, after weeks of turning in letters, bank statements, signed documents, and so on- it looked like the house was going to be ours.
The owners turned out to be Christians, and when they heard about our story and the fact that we needed a place to live by August 4th, agreed to let us rent it until we closed. That alone is pretty unheard of because it puts the owners at risk and they are at a liability. When we arrived at the house, a house-warming card and dinner was waiting for us. They treated us very kindly, and believed that God had sent them the right couple to buy their house. After a few bumps in the road, we were able to close with only a little money down at the end of September. It was truly a "God-thing" that we could've never done on our own!
3. God's Plan
Both my husband and I have learned a great deal in our first nine months of marriage, our first semester of teaching, our first time as staff members at a church and the list goes on. God has a plan for us as a couple, and Lord-willing eventually a family. He has a plan for me as an individual. There will be opportunities in 2015 that He will give me that I don't want to miss out on. I have specific areas that I want to work on in the new year, but I certainly do not want MY own plans to be put ahead of what God has for me now. As cliche as those resolutions may be, we should always be striving to be better. Even if you are not struggling with the same things as someone else, don't be low and make fun of them! Encourage and inspire them to keep going. I would MUCH rather be the one to keep someone from quitting than to get some "likes" on a meme that you post that makes fun of their efforts.
*All in all, the ups (a new marriage, a new house, a new church) have definitely out-weighed the downs (moving away from all family, losing my precious grandma) and I can go on and on about God's goodness. I don't know what 2015 will hold, but it is great to know that we're not alone in this crazy thing called life! :)
<3 Stephanie
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