Faithfulness
A few years ago I helped begin a Wednesday night Bible Study at our church. We named it WOW which stands for “Women on Wednesday”. As it progressed, the name took on a new meaning as we began to share things that God did in our lives that caused us to go “wow!”.
I am taking a break from WOW right now … and I miss my WOW friends SO much, but those two hours on Wednesday nights are literally the only two that Bill and I have with no interruptions from children, life, etc. He and I have been meeting and making decisions on the house, discussing the plans, making sure we are on track, etc. (Can I just give a shout out here to Bill Baerg who constantly prays about how projects like this are hard on a marriage and asking for help to keep ours strong? Give that man BONUS points!!).
Anyway … this spring they are discussing God’s faithfulness. Different women are coming each week to talk about how they have seen God’s faithfulness in their lives … and I would LOVE to hear what each and every one of them have to say. It has been a reminder to me though to look for God’s faithfulness and record it for my children.
Duet. 4:9 says “Only be careful, and watch yourselves closely so that you do not forget the things your eyes have seen or let them fade from your heart as long as you live. Teach them to your children and to their children after them”.
We have seen SO many evidences of God’s hand and faithfulness in this whole house process but a few I want to remember today for my children (there will be more … I just know it):
*Although we still have a LONG way to go in our project, I am grateful for our general contractor. Long story that would bore you on how we selected him, but when we were making our decision, he came over and we went over the project line by line (let me just say … we missed some things!). When he left, Bill shut the door and both of us … at the very same time … went “whew”. We both knew it felt right and we had such a peace about it. SO glad we were on the same page. Bill insisted we have a general contractor and not job it out because .. and he said it gently … but organization of big projects like this is not my strong suit. High five for knowing me like that and knowing it would have been a stretch! It has already paid off dividends.
*Inexplicably last year HBU decided to cut the Communication requirement from their curriculum for their undergraduates. This is very unusual for any university. They offered me some other classes but the time requirement would have been too great. Had they not cut this class I would be there 2 days a week. Trust me … it’s better for me to be home right now. Bill asked me to just focus for the next few months on the house … and I didn’t even have to resign from my job! Last week Houston Comm. College called and asked me to take a class. It was only one class and would have worked in my day … and I LOVE going to teach so I said “ok”. Then they called and said I didn’t have enough masters hours to teach there. UHM, I have an entire masters in speech. Long story short … they made a mistake. I’ve been placed back on the list of available profs which will be great for the fall. But truly … I don’t really think that “mistake” wasn’t an accident. I think the Lord knew where I needed to be, knew my husband wanted me to be focused on one thing and I’m pretty sure I’ll have a job waiting for me in the fall. Yay!
* One morning I prayed very specifically for the workers at our house. I prayed that they would take pride in their work and craftsmanship and want to do a good job. When I went over later I saw a cabinet in the girls bath that was NOTHING like what I had in mind or had described to them. My first reaction was to go … “What? WHAT?!” but then as I thought about it I started really liking it. I showed it to Bill later and he said ….“I actually really love it. It opens that space up more”. I don’t have the gift of design or space planning or anything like that … and had they gone with my idea it wouldn’t have been as good. I felt it was such a confirmation of the Lord saying … “girl, I’ve got your back”. Here’s the cabinet by the way:
* I prayed the other day that I could be as helpful to other people as they have been to me (on colors, ideas, etc.). As soon as I got home, I had a message from someone I have never met asking me for some advice on choosing her contractor.
* I was feeling overwhelmed last week (door crisis - wrong doors put on the frame the wrong way). Anyway, a precious, precious friend was with me and said … “let’s go back to my house and pray over these plans”. And we did. We prayed for the right decisions to be made, for me to not feel overwhelmed, etc. etc. The very next day I read from a devotional book that the same friend had given me and it was on “not being overwhelmed”. The great thing was that I had to go meet with the contractor to get it fixed (and I HATE confrontation and normally would have dreaded this meeting) but I had such a lightness of feeling on the way over there. When I got there he already had the new doors ordered and apologized for the mistake. Easy, schmeasy.
*I drove by a house months ago that I felt like I had never seen before. A lady was working outside and I pulled over to tell her how pretty it was. She invited me in and showed me the inside which I thought was equally as beautiful. When we were leaving I asked her if she used anyone to help decorate. She said she was a designer and I asked for her business card. It was like a total set up except I think God set it up. She has already given me an idea for my kitchen that both Bill and I LOVE and we never would have come up with it on our own. (How funny is this … her last name is ANGEL!).
Grateful too for a God who cares about it all!! Stay tuned!
PS Humpty Dumpty is getting put back together again … the walls upstairs are all sheet rocked again, crown molding and baseboards have been added and the showers have had the drains added. Won’t be long before tile and paint are added!
