This week, that statement has been soooo true in Birmingham, AL. It rained ALL night and ALL day the following day on Tuesday. There are still literally rivers of water running down our driveway to prove it!
This year, that statement has been very true in the life of our family. The biggest downpour has been in our family's future. At the end of last summer, Keith sent resumes to churches and associations in every state in the southeast. We began to hear from some almost immediately, but then it came to a screeching halt over the holidays. Once January hit, we began to hear from several churches a week, it seemed like, that wanted to know if they could check his references or get a DVD or wanted to meet with us. That has all been such an encouragement. The really exciting part is that this Sunday, a church will vote on bringing Keith as their pastor! We are so excited! After meeting with the search committee about a month ago, Keith preached morning and evening services there last week. Tomorrow night, we will share a covered dish meal with them and then they will get to ask us questions to get to know us better. Sunday, Keith will preach the morning service and then the congregation will vote.
This is huge for our family! It means that Keith will finally be able to do what God has gifted and called him to do. It means that we will finally feel like we have a real church home for the first time in a long time. It will also allow me to quit work in a few months and be a stay-at-home Mommy--my lifelong career goal! Keith and I have felt for a long time that we are in the "wrong" role. He has been the stay-at-home-Dad, while I went to the office and worked all day. This is not what we wanted, but was necessary because of insurance concerns and Jonathan's health. It will be such a blessing to be able to be home with Jonathan during the day and do the things I feel like I'm called to do. I know a lot of women abhor the June Cleaver model of wife and mother, but I can't wait!
God continues to rain down blessings. I told Keith last Sunday afternoon that I guess I've been underestimating God. I kind of figured that, when we were called to a church, it would be smaller than we're comfortable in, with a mostly non-existent music and children's ministry, etc, etc. This church is "exceedingly, abundantly more" than I even imagined. When I saw all the children, and learned that they are diligent to teach even the younger ones about the Gospel...when I heard the choir sing and the pianist play... when I saw how usable the facilities are... when experienced how friendly and genuine the people are... my reaction was, "Seriously, God?!? You would give us all that as a bonus?"
There have been other showers of blessings this year. Jonathan turned 3! This is totally amazing, considering how little and premature he was when he came into the world. He continues to be a blessing to us. -And he's recently made great progress with his speech. We still have a long way to go, but the progress is so encouraging.
We've also decided to adopt. We've always wanted more children and still pray that God will bless us with another biological child. But, not long after the earthquake last year in Haiti, God began to work on our hearts about adopting internationally. We've talked and prayed about it for almost a year, and finally talked to a local adoption agency to get some questions answered. We feel that one way God wants to further the Gospel is to increase our family with hopefully two children from Haiti. It will be a long, faith-filled journey, but we are so excited to begin it once things are settled with being at a church.
There are other blessings along the way... too many to count. Usually, we think of all the bad stuff that happens when we say "When it rains, it pours," but sometimes it is how God pours out His blessings on us... in showers that just keep coming, leaving us refreshed and encouraged.
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