When the calendar turned 01/01/2020, I was full of expectation and excitement. If you would have asked me that day where I thought I would be in three months, I would have said that not much would change. I honestly thought that we were on our way into new and better things, but not that it would have changed so much so quickly. Once again, I was completely wrong. Nothing unusual there.
I’m sure this topic has been contemplated and talked about more that we care to admit, so I’m going to make this part as short as possible. Does anyone else ever think that they have something figured out and then God says “Ha!! You won’t see this coming!”? I can’t get over the state of our world at the moment. Now, here’s the weird part. On 01/01/02020, I was unbelievably sick. Seriously. I honestly contemplated going to the clinic to get tested for the flu and strep throat because I felt so sick. I was sick enough that I didn’t even argue with my husband about having to take fever reducers. For anyone who knows me, that in itself is a miracle. I won’t even take an ibuprofen without a fight. I even took my asthma medication without being told. Now that all this is going on around us, (thankfully not much in our county) I’m beginning to think I already had this lovely virus. I know there is no way of knowing now if that’s what it was, but all the symptoms seem to match up. I guess we’ll never know.
Now that we have that out of the way, on to the other things that have happened recently. When I wrote last, things were just starting to get interesting in our world. I told you guys of some of the changes that were happening. I told you that I had basically stopped selling jewelry and had started a new adventure. I will tell you about that in another post. I promise it will come out eventually. The recent happenings in the country have slowed down my progress, but haven’t stopped it completely. Anyway, I had told you all of some pretty big things that were in the works. While some of those plans have changed because of current events, some of them have not. And there have also been some other major things that have happened that we hadn’t planned on. Fasten your seat belts, ladies and gents! Here we go!
First off, I will probably not be able to quit my job in May. That was my plan, but God seems to have other plans. No, we haven’t gotten to May yet, but as of right now, things are not lining up for me to leave just yet. And that’s ok. I’m thankful I have the employment. My state is currently on a Shelter in Place order. My employment position is considered essential, so I am still working while others are having to file for unemployment and things like that.
The second major thing that happened is that my husband started a new job! We are so excited about it! The crazy part is how we have been able to see VERY clearly how God was providing for us well before we needed it. Back in January, my husband applied for a new position. He was granted a time to take the test. He had to pass this test to even be looked at for an interview. This is a pretty involved process. So, he took the test and passed. He was called for an interview. That was set up and he passed the initial interview. Yay!! Now the hard parts came in. Yes, the test and interview was the easiest part of this whole thing. Once he passed the interview, he had to pass a very in-depth background check, a physical, an eye exam, a hearing test, a drug test, a credit check, a basic computer system test, a psychology test, and an interview with an investigator. This was all before he was offered the position. But, he passed everything with flying colors and he was offered the position!! And we are so very thankful for it now! You want to see how God has been taking care of us? My husband started his new position on March 2nd. Our state went into quarantine on March 16th. We went into Shelter in Place on March 27th. My husband is considered an essential employee. We are both in essential jobs. Before March 2nd, my husband was not working in an essential position. He would have been at home with no work and would have been one of the people having to file for unemployment. God is so good!!
Another major change has come about very recently and very suddenly. As most of you know, my family and I have been renting a tiny house to aid us in getting out of debt before we purchase a home. Well. That has completely been turned on its head. We were hoping to stay here for at least a few more months. Things have been quickly coming together for us in the debt payoff department, but we were hoping to finish it off before moving from this house. Again, God has other plans. The owner of this house was approached by someone who wants to purchase the home. The house isn’t even on the market. The current owners were quite surprised by this and weren’t sure what to do with the offer. They came to us to ask our opinion and to see if it would put us in a huge bind if they sold it. It would require us to be moved out in just a few months. They told us that they would require the closing date to be a few months out so that we would have time to find what we needed. We told the owners that they should sell it. We aren’t quite ready to try to get a mortgage and find another place to live, but we knew this would be a smart financial move for the owner, so we agreed to be out by the date specified. So, that means we need to get on our horse and find a new place to live! Yikes!! We are not ready for this!! You guys, I am a nervous wreck!! But, we have been very obviously cared for by our Creator, so this won’t be any different. Once again, my patience and faith have been, and are going to be, tested!
What does all this mean to my family? Well, things are about to get even crazier than they were. My husband is in his new job, so his work schedule is set. He is working the night shift, so he is sleeping during the day. We have six kids in 800 square feet. Ear plugs and melatonin are his best friends. His schedule also means that most of the responsibility is falling on me. I am currently working full time (mostly from home, thankfully), homeschooling three children now, starting my new business, packing a house, doing paperwork for our mortgage application, and house hunting. Seriously people. Things are about to get messy. Well, messier than they already were. Because we all know it was anything but orderly before all this started!
So, here we go into the abyss of life once again. I do hope and pray that the process goes smoothly, but I’m also not holding my breath. I know God is holding all the pieces and will place each one as the time is right. You guys, I’m not going to act like I have it all together. I am super nervous about this process and what will happen these next few months. I am desperately hoping we are able to get a mortgage and find our own place so that we don’t have to rent somewhere else again. I’m pretty much over the whole renting thing. It’s so restrictive sometimes. But, if that’s what God has in mind for us, then that’s what we will do. I am praying to be able to get our own place. It is time for us to settle down and raise our kids in their own home where they can make memories and revisit them as they get older. I know God will provide exactly what we need at the exact time we need it.
I hope to keep you all updated occasionally with the happenings of life as we navigate these next couple of months. These next few steps should be interesting!
Thank you, everyone! I hope the rest of your weekend is great!
Imperfection At Its Finest 