A God of Miracles

As I think about how visible and active God has been in our lives I am speechless. I'm beyond overwhelmed by God's goodness. As you may know, my husband just accepted a position with US Cellular. What you may not know is how long we have been waiting for this. I'm going to give you a brief, raw and honest look into our lives over the last year from my perspective, and in the end I pray that all the glory goes to Him.

About 18 months ago we made the decision to close down our business, Java Cone. Our journey and experience of Java Cone would require many blog posts. ;) Around 16 months ago we moved back to Iowa to live with my in-laws. We decided to come here (instead of my mom's house) because we have more room here and Michael was able to get some temp work at his home church and then a construction job.

It was devastating to leave our house. Our house was not perfect, but we loved it. We imagined raising our children in this house. We imagined that we would be in this house for years and years to come. We actually still own this house (we are renting it out), but I have been able to detach myself emotionally. It took a long time and a lot of tears were shed in the process. I remember several times as we were packing just breaking down in tears as I grieved my dream of living there.

Throughout this time Michael started applying for many jobs. He has applied for hundreds of jobs in the last year, and he would randomly get calls and interviews. I've lost track how many times he was told, "You did a really good job in the interview, we really liked you, BUT we chose to go with someone with more experience." There was always a BUT, and it hurt so much every. single. time. As someone pointed out to us (as they laughed about a silly reason why Michael didn't get a job) is that to him (looking in from the outside) God is the one saying no and closing that door.

We are very thankful that Michael's parents opened their home to us. However, I would be lying if I didn't say this has been the hardest challenge I have ever faced. Regardless of the circumstance, it is very hard to live with your parents once you have left. I believe it is even harder when children are involved. One of my spiritual gifts is hospitality. I love to host and cook for others, and I desperately desire my own kitchen. However, I have been able to do a lot of cooking here, and I'm sure it will be a challenge to cook smaller amounts of food. :)

In the midst of job applying, including getting denied a job that would have moved us to Tennessee, we found out that we were expecting. I like to call Asher our miracle baby. I don't want to go into to many personal details, but lets just say it was a miracle that sweet Asher was conceived. If I'm honest, it did take me a few weeks to fully accept my pregnancy, and then it took me another few weeks to actually get excited. When we saw our little bean moving all around in my tummy I was in love. I had a difficult beginning of my pregnancy, and I'm now able to look at it as a blessing that Michael didn't have a job during that time. There were many days I couldn't get out of bed until after 10 and I would go to be early around 8. Besides feeding Eli (who was only 6 months old) I was in bed a lot of the time. Now Asher (which means blessing/happy) is now here, and I have no doubt that God has an amazing plan for his life. He has captured my heart just like my other children, and he is the happiest and easiest baby I have ever known or heard of.

It's been a daily battle to chose joy in the midst of the storm. Some days I feel very content and hopeful over our situation. Michael would get an interview and the dreaming of our future would always begin. Then, when the "no" came the disappointment came. Many nights ended in tears and feelings of hopelessness. I questioned God. I questioned how this could possibly be God's plan for our life. I questioned if he had a plan for our lives.

At the end of April Michael was able to get a job with Hope Haven. They are an organization that provides services for adults with disabilities. They hired him to open and manage a coffee shop in the library. He was definitely qualified for the job, and we were very excited about the job offer. The only disappointing part of the job was the pay. It did not pay enough to provide for our family and so the searching continued. This job has been a huge blessing to our family. While it didn't pay the best, we believe it is all in God's plan. We were able to sell many, many items that we had left from Java Cone, eventually including the ice cream machine!

Month after month went by. We had some hopeful jobs, but none of them worked out for different reasons. I would spend many afternoons searching and applying for jobs for him. Then, at the end of October, Michael got an email from US Cellular inviting him to come for a day of open interviews. He had applied for a job with them back in March, but he got denied to someone with more experience. Since it was for a manager position he understood, and he left that situation feeling very encouraged. They made sure that he was told that he did a very good job interviewing and that he shouldn't give up. This was probably the more encouraging denial he received, if that makes sense.

We were concerned about the pay range of the job he would be applying for, so I contacted a friend from our church in KS whose husband works with US Cellular and actually moved to Iowa about the same time we did. We found out that he would be there conducting interviews that day, and he is one of the guys that actually interviewed Michael. A week and a half later Michael got a job offer that was even better than the job he interviewed for. What a blessing! It's mind blowing that Michael applied for hundreds and hundreds of jobs, yet the 2 jobs he got he didn't actually apply for either of them. They found him.

Back to Java Cone. Even though we closed our business 18 months ago, we still had unresolved issues. One being a very expensive ice cream machine. We have been trying to sell this machine for the past year with no luck. On the way back home from the interview Michael got a call for an offer on the ice cream machine for the exact amount we settled on for the ice cream machine. Coincidence? No, it's all God!

Then, to top it off, our attorney has been trying to get another debt from Java Cone settled. This has been ongoing and frustrating, since the company has done many illegal things including putting a ding on Michael's perfect credit. I guess it's still not bad, but we want it as high as possible, especially since we will be renting soon. The SAME day he spoke to our attorney about finally getting everything resolved and Michael's credit being fully restored. It's overwhelming to see God putting all the puzzle pieces together.

Now, my dream that I have been praying for since early this year is coming true! I've been praying daily that Michael would have a new job and that we would be in our own home by Christmas. I LOVE Christmas. I love sitting in our living room at night with only the lights of the Christmas tree on, Christmas music and maybe some hot chocolate. Pure contentment. I'm looking forward to many nights ending like that in December, and I can't wait to see what else God has in store for our family.

I don't know what the future holds. I don't know if US Cellular is the company Michael will have a long time career at. I do know, without a doubt, that we are in God's will at this very moment, and my heart is filled with joy.