Stories of God's Blessings (warning: super long!)

There are times when God uses challenges to grow and stretch us. Those times are tough. But there are also times when God uses blessings to draw us closer to Him, and those times are like cool water in the desert. I have been walking through a time of change, and it hasn't been easy. There is chaos and stress and busyness, and I am not the kind who enjoys being busy. I like down time, time to think, time to write, time to breathe, time to be creative and hear God's voice leading me. I have felt overwhelmed and uncertain many times this past year, grasping at time as it flies past and wondering when it will slow. I have wondered how to divide my time among all of the things claiming a share of it, and I have made the mistake of letting my time with God disappear from my daily life because it was the easy thing to do. I am just beginning to invite Him back.

But He has been with me all along. And even though I felt challenged by circumstances, I felt blessed by Him through it all. Some of my prayers were fervent and passionate, but many were unspoken hopes. He answered them all, showing me how well He knows me and cares for me, even when I don't remember to turn to him. I might have shared my frustrations with a friend, and neglected to take them to God, but He heard them all the same.

These are just a few of the prayers God has answered in the past year, blessing our family in ways that are beyond explanation, apart from Him...

We moved to Oregon. Greg and I started dating in July of 2001 (yep, that's 10 years ago!). Right away he told me he loved me. And right away he shared his dream of living in Oregon and working for Nike some day. At first, I was totally against it. I felt like there was no way I could live in Oregon. I had family there, we had visited lots, I knew the place. And I hated the rain. Like a cat who hates to be wet, I abhorred even the slightest damp if I was not in a bathing suit at a swimming pool in 90-degree heat (minimum). But I loved Greg, and I knew he was the only one for me. So I just slid that information to the back burner to think about later. And God changed my heart over the next 4 years. By the time I said "I do" in August of 2005, I was on board for getting out of CA. I was even on board for the rain. I wanted weather. I'd spent enough time in SoCal to be ready for a change. And then we spent the first 5 years of our marriage in Long Beach. I was more than ready to escape by the end. I was begging God for a change.

I got pregnant knowing I might not be able to stay home with my baby. I wanted a baby so much, but I also wanted to know I would get to be with him all the time. We waited 5 years to have a baby because Greg was in school and working part time, and I worked full time. When we had Ethan, I prayed for a way to stay home. Freelance work was the way I thought I would do it, and I spent a lot of time researching how to break into that, but I didn't have a lot of confidence. It just seemed like my income would be too unstable, and Greg still didn't have a full-time job with insurance. He had applied for a Lead position at the Nike retail store at the Portland airport, but months passed and no word, so we gave up hope.

Then one Saturday morning, two weeks before I was due back from maternity leave, Greg got a phone call, offering him the position in Portland. It took us about 10 minutes to accept. Did I say minutes? I meant seconds! It was a whirlwind two weeks. I put in my notice at work, packed up the past 5 years of our lives, and took our newborn on a plane while Greg drove the 16+ hours north.

As soon as I resigned my position, my boss offered me one with her new agency (which I didn't yet know about), doing freelance writing and editing work. I accepted, of course, and began working for her the day I was supposed to have returned to my corporate job. Shortly afterward, the company I'd resigned from called to ask me to freelance for them, as well. Suddenly I had a salary we could depend on, Greg had a full-time job with benefits, and our cost of living had dropped significantly. I was staying at home just as I longed to do.

It felt like we would never get here, and then suddenly, everything I'd ever wanted just fell into place.


We bought a house. This is something I never thought would happen. Greg and I don't make a lot of money, and I always thought buying a house would be far out of reach for many, many years. But I was not made for apartment living, nor for temporary homes. I have always been a homebody, content to take care of my family and spend my days nearby. I get the travel bug now and then, of course, and I've done more than my share of it, but I always love coming home. Still, I never felt quite at home in our apartments. It always felt temporary, and that is hard on a girl who likes to put down roots. Somehow, God led us down a path to homeownership. It started with the desire for a yard for Ethan, and continued with the realization that rental payments would be similar to a mortgage. Then Greg went on his first men's retreat with Solid Rock and, though we weren't looking for one, he connected with a real estate agent who referred us to other wonderful people in the industry, and suddenly we were doing something I never thought possible. And He led us to the perfect house — it just felt like home, the minute I saw a picture of it online. I knew pictures could be deceiving... had been deceiving plenty of times in the months we searched for a house, but I had a feeling this one was different. All along, we looked for signs that we shouldn't move forward. There were some times of doubt, but in the end He worked everything out and made our path clear....

The house had just dropped into our price range when we found it online. The sellers had had it listed for over a year, slowly dropping the price until it became a short sale. The month before we saw it, they took it off the market to have it inspected and make repairs (unusual for a short sale). They wanted to move out of state, and were getting serious about selling. We made our offer the day we saw it.

Six weeks passed and I started to have doubts, mainly about the location, so we went to see it again and I remembered why I liked it so much. I questioned our agent about the neighborhood, and felt reassured while we were there. Then, we met the across-the-street neighbor, who runs a dog grooming business out of her garage. We saw a couple of customers come and go while we were there. She was super nice, has lived there since the house was built (about 30 years) and knows many of the neighbors. She told us about one of our next-door neighbors, as well as her next-door neighbor, and it was so reassuring to get to talk to someone who has lived there so long, loves it, and knows others who live there. I felt really good about it after that. Greg and I talked about it, and felt like yes, this was a good place for us. Oh, and it's in Beaverton School District — the best!

As we were leaving, our agent got a phone call. It was the selling agent calling to say our offer was accepted! And we found out while we were standing across the street looking at the house. Doesn't God have a sense of humor?


God took care of the details. The house buying process went pretty smoothly until the end. That's when the sellers said they needed more time to pack up and move, and wanted to rent it back from us until the 22nd. We were supposed to close on the 11th, and I was desperate to get it painted and have carpet put in the bedrooms before we moved in. I am a perfectionist very organized person, and I like things to get done. ;) I hate loose ends. I hate things hanging over my head. And I knew if we didn't get it done right away, it would nag at me. I can't function in chaos or disorder, and I certainly can't work in it. I didn't want to have to try. But I didn't take my concerns to God. Instead, I complained to friends and resigned myself to making it work in a shorter time frame. I took matters into my own hands to get it done. We were also worried that the sellers might not be out on the 22nd. What would happen then? We worried about the contract we'd signed, and we regretted it. It was a hard couple days. Then our closing date got pushed back, and back, and back, a week late. And then we received word that the owners would be out by the 18th, and we would get the keys at closing, also on the 18th. There would be no need to rent back. Wow. Just like that, it all worked out.


I desperately wanted both a son and a daughter. If I had thought to ask God while I was pregnant with Ethan, I would have asked for this. But I think deep down, I felt it was wrong to  pray for something so specific, something that involved my children. I think I feared that if He didn't answer that prayer, and I had two boys or two girls or three boys or four girls or whatever, I would feel guilty that I had prayed for something other than what I got. I was determined I should love my children no matter what, and I was afraid praying for them to be one or the other would be a sign that I didn't. I think God heard my earnest, silent prayer anyway. And when I first got pregnant with my daughter, I knew she was a girl. I also learned a lesson from a Godly friend, and spoke my prayer for a daughter. All along, I felt God's promise in my heart, that it was the girl I hoped for. But I was still afraid to believe it, and that's the reason we decided to find out what we were having. We had waited to be surprised with Ethan, and I was sure he was a boy. But with my little girl, I was so afraid I would be wrong, and vastly disappointed after hoping for 9 months. So we opted to find out early. While I was surprised, I was also not at all surprised. God knew my heart, and one of the greatest hopes of my life. I thought I would doubt the ultrasound technician if she said we were having a girl; instead, I felt deep confirmation of God's promise to me.


We're making great friends. It may seem like a small thing, or an easy thing, but I have friends who moved out of state years ago and still haven't formed really deep, meaningful friendships. I have friends I've known since the 4th grade, who I still visit with and stay in touch with (one of them will be here in August!). It's hard to make that kind of friendship later in life, when you are busy and people are more set in their relationships. (And when you are an introvert like me!) But God has brought awesome women into my life. From House Church and playgroup, to our new babysitting co-op, I am surrounded by awesome people. I've even met a friend who can relate to working from home with a toddler, while pregnant with number two! (We also have a freakish number of other shared experiences, birthdays and anniversaries!) A big part of home is friends and family, and we're starting to find that here. It will take time to form those lasting bonds and really feel comfortable here, but I believe we will, because I know it's part of God's plan for us to be here.

Looking back on this year has a way of strengthening my faith and opening my eyes to God's blessings, even when we feel far from Him.