J to the O to the B

This is a post I've been thinking about for quite some time...something that's been on my heart, but not something I've shared with the blogging universe.

Because, ironically, of the internet.

There is this search engine where you can type in any words you want and it will find you that special something for which you searched. Or like 2 billion of those somethings.

Clever, isn't it? If I could Google things like "Where, for the love, are my car keys?" or "How to find my current grocery list" then we'd really be in business.

For the past few months, B has been on the employment hunt. Not the click-around-on-Monster-in-my-free-time hunt, but more of an aggressive search like when Indiana Jones was in the Temple of Doom and ate monkey brains and live cockroaches in order to accomplish his mission. I believe Indy also rode in a mine car and witnessed someone's heart being pulled from their chest, but B's desperation hadn't yet reached those levels.

So you get the idea. 

I didn't post much about The Search for the Holy Grail of Employment because I've been assuming that the first thing any employer worth his salt would do is google the prospective candidate's name. 

And if that boss is a proficient Googler, he would quickly come to the conclusion after discovering this teeny blog that "B is a great guy, but his wife has an undiagnosed case of OCD and based on her posts about food, apparently weighs close to 900 pounds, which cannot be good for our group healthcare rates."

And I believe that, perhaps, that might hinder B's quest.

 

For the past several years, work-related stresses have interlaced themselves into nearly every area of our lives. And even though my sweet spouse searched for an alternative, nothing presented itself that would ease the weariness of constant travel and the steroid-infused, jazz-dancing elephant of tension residing  on B's chest.

So in January, our family received some mandatory rest. Our very own exile island (see that? I can always bring it back to reality TV) where there was not much more to do than lovingly stare into each other's eyes while talking about all that WASN'T going on.

As a matter of interesting timing, Jackson was off-track for three weeks, so when I say we were ALL HOME, I mean ALL FOUR OF US AT HOME. In the winter. Doing a whole lot of...being at home. Inside. Together!

Good times.

And slowly, in this quest for better, different, new, God quietly laid on our hearts some things we needed to release from our lifeless kung-fu grip.

Time.

Perfection.

Location.

Which, of course, made for lots of light-hearted conversation and small talk around the the dinner table. And in the office. And while playing the Wii. Because did I mention we've had a lot of time together?

One day while I was running, I listened to a podcast on the topic of  being faithful when times are hard. The speaker defined faithfulness as walking through hard times having eternal eyes. Not avoiding the tough trenches of life, but forging onward, relying on God for his strength.

And on that same day, I read this verse, "As for God, His way is perfect; the word of the Lord is flawless. He is a shield for all who take refuge in Him." (2 Samuel 22:31)

So here we are three months into this journey and B is starting something new. 

Tomorrow.

This isn't necessarily a dream job or all that he envisioned a few months ago, but we feel blessed and cared for beyond words. We're thankful that God has taken care of our needs and even our wants. He has encouraged us along the road in amazing ways.

One day while I folded laundry, I was praying for B to get an interview as a sign of encouragement. As I matched up the socks, the phone rang with an opportunity. Seriously.

(I chose not to take that as a hint that I should further engross myself in housework.)

On the day that I ran out of my pricier-than-it-should-be eye cream, I was a little disheartened to think about not replacing it until the cash flow rebooted with new employment. Later that afternoon, my mom called and asked if I needed any of my precious eye cream and did I want the night cream to go with it? God is faithful to provide even beauty products for a body that is made from dust and decaying as we speak. That is generous beyond measure. And a humbling reminder that he cares about the details in my life.

We keep coming back to the verse in 2 Samuel that says "His way is perfect." We rest in knowing that while our ways our flawed, lacking, misguided, and even greedy, His way is none of those things. I will gladly receive that any day...even when the gift is exile island and the time spent there is less than pleasant.

So, here we go...the next chapter begins.

And even though I could quote "In Christ Alone" during just about every post (whether the topic is molten lava chocolate cake or parenting issues) I've restrained myself a lot lately, so here it is one more time. Because it is true and the glory is His.

In every victory,

let it be said of me...

My source of strength, 

My source of hope,

Is Christ alone.