What YHWH Ordains, He Sustains!

I know that part of this post is overdue, but we are heading out tomorrow, so instead of posting individual messages like I had hoped I'd have time for, I'm just going to combine the events of this past week into a single post.

So, I'll start off with last week...

We found a realtor with a house for rent that was within our "target" budget.  She said that she was showing it that afternoon, as it was also up for sale and rent at the same time.  When we called her back, she said that she had multiple people wanting to rent it, and that she never had to make this type of decision before.  She responded to an email that she knew "that God would help her in [her] decision."  As this person also was dealing with some type of bug, it took a couple of days to get back in touch with her.  She said that the owners didn't want the dogs, even though we said that there was a strong possibility of us purchasing the property after the lease.  We told her that the dogs were part of our family and we would not be getting rid of them.  She said that she understood and would also work to get us into a home by the time we got there.  She called the next day with phone numbers of other realtors who had some rentals.  Teresa called to speak with one and got passed around to the person she was trying to reach.  When Teresa asked if she had any rentals, she immediately responded with a positive answer.  She sent the details and an email exchange started between her and Teresa.  As it turns out, the house was (a) not listed anywhere; and (b) belongs to her new brother-in-law.  Apparently her sister recently married and this belonged to her (now) husband.  Not only is the house within our target budget, but they decided to not charge a deposit for the dogs!  That means that our move-in is a standard 1st+deposit.  Okay, I'm not making this sound as awesome as it really is, but needless to say, our Heavenly Father made provisions for us.

Jump forward a few days to yesterday (the 17th).  I was outside cleaning some things up in the garage to make more room for boxes coming out of the house when a friend stopped by.  I came in to see who it was.  He said that he had come by to make sure he saw us before we took off.  We chatted for a few minutes and the conversation turned to the rising gas prises.  He then said, "That's the other reason I came by," and proceeded to pull a not-so-small amount of money out of his pocket and put it into my hand.  I saw the denomination of the bill on the outside and yelled his name.  I didn't count it, but just put it into my pocket.  He said that he was led to give it to us.  Teresa and I both started tearing up and told our friend that the gift was an answer to prayer.  The gift meant that we had some breathing room on the gas situation.

Now, today...I can't begin to describe what we felt this afternoon...but first let me just start with my doc appointment this morning.  I went to the final doc appointment and when I left the discharge nurse said that the doctor didn't put me at Maximum Medical Improvement (MMI), which is needed for me to return to work.  Why he did this, no one but he knows, since my surgeon put me at MMI with a lost of 2% (for constant low pain).  Anyway, I left there and came home for lunch before we headed out to the office I'm based out of, 2 hours away.  When I got there one of the guys had me start going through my tools to make sure everything was there.  Then the HR guy (works part time in that office and part-time in Denver) started questioning me about the insurance premiums from the months I was off.  We got in a little tiff about it, but he saw that the conversation wasn't going anywhere.  He had me write out the reason I was leaving so it was on record and I said my goodbyes to everyone that I had worked with.  Aside from a raised adrenalin, which was already high from being nervous about actually "quitting", it wasn't too bad of a situation.  From there we ran some errands and then headed over to pick up the truck.  I walked in and said that I was there to pick up a 26-footer.  The guy finished up with what he was doing, grabbed the contract, turned it to face me and then said, "I'm pleased to tell you that your rental has been prepaid."  I about fainted.  Then he said that the person on the phone said that I would know what the letters in front of my name meant -- "Y.H.W.H." -- and put them in brackets.  He accidentally let the name slip as to who it was.  When Teresa came in, I told her that the truck had been paid for, and by who, and she fell back against a nearby door.  Neither one of us could speak.  Then he asked if I wanted insurance for the trip.  I said, "Yeah, sure...everything else is paid for, so I'll pay for this much."  He told me how much and I pulled my credit card out.  He typed away at the computer, turned to me and said, "I've factored it in.  You don't owe anything."  Again, I was speechless.  If I wasn't in so much shock, I think my cheeks would have been hurting from being stretched by my jaw hitting the ground...not once, but twice!  LOL  I was teary-eyed until I drove off the lot.  I looked up and asked, "What do You have in store for us?"

After talking with the person that gave this gift, they said that they, too, were led to provide for us.  I didn't ask any questions.  I knew better.  I told this person of my thoughts and questions to Abba.  Questions like, "Why us?" and "Who are we, that we are being given these gifts?"  I don't think we've done anything special.  I'm pretty sure I haven't done anything to deserve such provisions.  Yet, it is OVER-ABUNDANTLY CLEAR that we are to make this move, and that our Abba is paving the way for us to go, as He has from the beginning.  I still don't understand why people are looking to us to be the "forerunners" or "flag bearers", meaning that people are waiting on us to move so that they know where to move to.  It's not like we're these great scholars, film stars, preachers, or any big named people.  We're just average folks who struggle with everyday life the way a lot of people do.  Yes, we put our faith in YHWH, but so do many other people.  So, what makes us so different that we are not only being directed on this move, but our needs are more than being met??? 

I don't have that answer.  But I'm pretty sure that whatever lies ahead of us in the next chapter of our lives is going to be scary, awesome, and a wild ride all at the same time!

Whatever lies ahead for us, I know that we can say HalleluYah!  HalleluYah!  HalleluYah! ... now, and forever more!  Ahalah shem Aveinu Melech ha'olam! (Praise be the name of our Father, THE King of the universe!)

The LORD is my strength and my song, and he has become my salvation; this is my God, and I will praise him, my father's God, and I will exalt him.
Shemot/Exodus 15:2

Let the peoples praise you, O God; let all the peoples praise you!
Psalm 67:5