A Testimony 5 Years in the Making
I firmly believe in celebrating… just about everything.
And today? Today, I am planning a celebration for my husband. Will you allow me to tell you why?
Just shy of 5 years ago, My husband and his dad had a cabinet refinishing business. As the economy slowed, their business came to a grinding halt without much warning. My husband struggled to find work. At five months pregnant with Addy, we were forced to move into my parent’s house.
Mike took whatever jobs he could find: concrete, construction, winery hand, census, night-time security guard, and pest control. He has been employed by 10 different places over the last 5 years… and not by choice.
We lived at my parents for 2 years and in a tiny studio apartment above my church for almost a year, before getting to where we live now.
During the past 5 years, we’ve cried. We’ve thrown some “why me?!” temper tantrums. We’ve made difficult decisions. We’ve battled depression. We’ve watched our “American dream” shatter. We’ve found a far better dream—to live each day WITH God. We’ve leaned into God and discovered just how much we can trust Him to provide our daily bread. We’ve received random checks in the mail and gifts that were exactly what we needed at that moment. We’ve huddled close as a family. In all the shaky times, our faith has become steadfast, immovable.
Our security is no longer found in the economy, in home ownership, or in a great job with great benefits. We’ve seen just how uncertain those can be.
But God, God is always Faithful. Though life may constantly change, in Him we have found a security that never fails.
In the midst of having to reevaluate what he wanted to do with his life, Mike looked into a particular career that had always interested him: law enforcement. He got hired with an agency that paid for him to go academy. Three weeks shy of graduation, he failed out (meaning he missed the passing score by one on one single test. He had done well at everything.) He lost that dream job.
We felt so crushed.
A few years later, while looking into going back to school, I encouraged him to try for that dream job one more time. This time, we paid for the schooling. Mike worked full-time during the day and went to school at night and the weekends. It was hard (you may have heard me mention this… a lot). After failing out of one academy, this time around he managed to graduate at the top of his class, maintained perfect attendance, and was honored with a special award for integrity.
In less than two weeks, after a grueling and uncertain hiring process, Mike will start his new job. And even better, it’s with the same agency he had the original job with when he failed out of academy. Can you say RESTORATION?!
5 years after the initial job loss that led Mike to rethink what he wanted to do with his life, 4 years after being hired in law enforcement, 3 years after failing out of academy, after 9 long months of schooling and working fulltime, after a 7 month hiring process that has included a whole lot of rejection… God has made a way for Mike to do what he believes he’s called to do.
And you know, looking back, I can honestly say God wasn’t sporadic. He didn’t stop blessing us when the economy went south and suddenly decide to start blessing us again. No. He has been with us, blessing us, every.single.step.in.this.journey. And I know He will continue to, no matter what the future holds.
God is so Good. So Faithful. And it isn’t today that we start living now that Mike has the job he wants. No, we’ve been living all along. And it has been hard, yes. But, oh, it has been so good too.
Okay. And now I get to shout out loud:
WHOO-HOO!!!
It’s time to celebrate God’s faithfulness, goodness, and grace… and welcome this new season into our lives.
It's time to celebrate the hard-working man who persevered, who put his family before his pride, who may have felt so beat up along the way, who pressed thru with excellence. I couldn't be prouder to be his wife, or more blessed. My husband is a champion. And a hero.
Okay, one more time, please:
WHOO-HOO!!!
By Grace,
Amanda