Enough. And more.

A few weeks ago, one of my favorite singers and bloggers (who happens to be a hometown boy who grew up at the same church I did!), Shaun Groves, posted a printable poster on his website. I printed it out and hung it on my bedroom door. I needed to see it often, a reminder to pray not for great wealth, but just for God to meet our needs. In searching for a job, I was growing weary of the financial struggles we've battled for the last several years. Each of the kids, at one time or another, have asked about the poster and read it themselves. This is it:
Over the past couple of months, Larry and I have looked at our bank account over and over, trying to decide the best way to get out of this bottomless pit, this endless, hopeless cycle we've faced for the last few years. The answer seemed to be bringing in more income. Yesterday, after every job I've applied for had fallen through and hope seemed to be lost on me finding a new job, we thought maybe a loan from our credit union would help break the cycle--if we could just get on top of things for one month, it seemed that we could finally get past this hurdle we keep facing over & over. At our wit's end, we felt desperate for a solution, so we called the bank & got things started on that. (After all, the payment on a loan would be less than all the overdraft fees we've been paying month after month for the last few years. Surely we have financed at least one of the bank executives' kids through college by now!)

Teacher inservice starts in a few days and nothing seemed to be working out for me job-wise. We decided that I would just go back to work at the school and wait for something to work out. But I'm a planner by nature so that really scared me as much as continuing the job hunt did. I kept hoping something would change, praying that something would open up in the school district at the last minute. But cutting it so close, getting down to the wire like this without feeling like we really had any more of an idea how to get by than we did a year ago was draining both of us. Truly, financial problems can take a toll on even a very healthy & happy marriage.

In trying to encourage my worried husband, I kept saying we needed to be patient & trust that God would work things out...that He has a plan for us....that He would provide our every need....that His timing is always perfect. Of course, I could only encourage him in that way because I had about a gazillion people reminding me to wait on God's timing and rest in knowing He would provide a few days ago on Facebook! I *knew* He would provide, but I was having a hard time living it.

Yesterday, Savannah asked me why I even needed a new job. I reminded her that we didn't make enough to pay our bills at this point in time and we really needed a job that pays more. She said (get this....) "But mom, we've always been okay. We've never missed eating because we couldn't afford it and they never turned off our electricity or anything." I responded that those things were true, but it was because God always took care of us, always provided in some way. She just shrugged & turned back to what she was doing and said something like "Yeah...like I said, we've always been OK. God's taken care of us."

Sigh. Yes, He has. Sage wisdom from my 16 year old. (Thank you, Lord, for this kid! I don't deserve her.)

This morning, I had no idea how the day would look by the time I went to bed. You see, today, a friend from our old church called and offered me a job.

A job that meets every single item on my wishlist. And then some. Perfect hours, more than perfect pay, great family-friendly environment, lots of fun little perks.

Oh my goodness!

When I was telling the kids about it, Samuel stopped me when I mentioned the pay and said "But mom, isn't that MORE than you were hoping to make? Isn't that more than ENOUGH?"

I remembered the poster on my bedroom door.

"Yes, baby. It is MORE. It means now we can GIVE more. We can HELP other people more. God loves to do things like that."

He smiled, nodded in agreement and said "cool." (After all, that's how 12 yr old boys show their enthusiasm for Providential intervention in life.)

Savannah just grinned & said "You know, you just can't point to anyone but God in this! It is everything you've prayed for!" Then she asked if we could pray and thank God for providing. The three kids and I circled up in the living room and praised God for giving us more than our heart's desire.

And somehow I kept it together and didn't completely melt into a puddle right then & there. Thank goodness my kids have turned out like this despite the many times their dad and I have fouled up over the years.

I'm still feeling a little stunned, shocked, amazed. I know my sweet friend who called to offer me a job today has no idea how HUGE a difference he just made in our lives. I know he has no idea just how deeply he impacted our family today and how many things about our lives will be affected by his actions. I know he acted because he saw that I was looking for a job and he had one to offer, but he doesn't realize how long that job offer was prayed for, how deep the callouses are on my knees. But I'm going to send him this blog link so he can see! Thank you, friend. From the bottom of our household's collective hearts, thank you.

As always, I won't go into detail here on the blog about exactly where I will be working. (Gotta be safe!) But I can tell you this much --- I will be an assistant to our friend who is a lawyer. It will be a whole new adventure for me since I have never done this before, but I am confident I can figure it out & do it well. I have plenty of clerical, computer, people skills, so I will be fine. Change is always scary, but this is a *very* good change. I will be able to wait until after the kids start school in a couple of weeks to start the job, so I have a little more summer left! Yahoo! A little more time for swimming, eating ice cream, taking pictures of summer fun, sleeping a little later and enjoying time with my kiddos.

"Oh, my God, He will not delay
My refuge and strength always
I will not fear, His promise is true
My God will come through always, always.

I lift my eyes up, my help comes from the Lord
From You Lord, from You Lord"
(part of the lyrics from Kristian Stanfill's song Always)