flew the coop

i haven't mentioned it here, but jeremy suddenly and unexpectedly lost his job in october. things have been a bit stressful, depressing, and boring since. there have been lots of jobs applied for, some interviews, a job plowing snow (we've only had one snow that needed to be plowed, though!), and lots of long days of uncertainty.

the winter weather and lack of things to do was really getting to us, and we were missing family. on saturday, we decided that it was time to get away. on sunday, (thanks to my generous father-in-law), we found tickets. and on tuesday, we found ourselves flying across the country (on three different planes, i might add!) and landing in warm and sunny california. we have been playing outside, drinking extra coffee and tea, and enjoying time with family. it's just what we needed.

we thought that we would still be job hunting while we were here...but on tuesday morning, jeremy got a call that he got a job! it's just a job that will hold us over for a few months (selling shoes at a local store), but it's a job, and we are thankful. jeremy plans to become a certified chaplain and will be doing a residency program (likely starting in the summer), so we just needed something to hold us over until then. this is perfect. and now we feel like we can just relax and enjoy our vacation instead of stressing over finding a job.

it's been a stressful few months...grieving the loss of what we thought was going to be our future, struggling with God and his plans for our family, and dealing with the daily stress of providing for our family. through it all, we know that God is good and we are thankful for all the people who have spoken encouraging words into our life as we walk through this. we have had so many people who have prayed for us and who remind us that God loves us, has a plan for us, and will use us to glorify him. we have also been provided for in ways we never could have imagined...from money and gift cards unexpectedly showing up in the mail to an old acquaintance (who had no idea of our circumstances) showing up at our door with a gift card to the grocery store on a particularly stressful day.

as hard as this time is right now, i hope that we can look back on it someday and see it as a time in our lives where we saw God's faithfulness to us. right now, it feels like a huge horrible event in our lives, but in the future, i think it will just be a blip on the timeline of our lives. i hope it's a blip that helped us grow, strengthened our faith and our marriage, and led us to a fruitful place that we never could have imagined. and thanks to all of you who read this who have prayed for us, especially at times where it has been hard for us to pray.

i'm off to have another cup of coffee. this morning, we are going to go for a walk in the sunshine and find a park with a slide (love's request). i'm feeling thankful and even a bit hopeful this morning.