Thank you, sweet readers & friends for following along with our journey and for the many encouraging cheers after my last post. I read each of them aloud to Don as we barreled down interstate 90 to our beloved Montana life. We both cried and again praised God for such a force of love behind us. You will never know how much we have needed each of you and at JUST THE RIGHT time God has used one or the other’s of you to lift us up and push us forward.
Giving up has been one of our biggest challenges.
We arrived in Bozeman on Monday afternoon. As God would have it, He provided brand new friends through our dear & faithful small group leaders back in Indiana. Instead of having to drive around looking for a place to park Imagene, God made sure we had a warm welcome in Brooke & Paul. They talked us up to the top of their beautiful mountain farm and I may have thought I’d hit heaven. Who lives like this? When I picture Montana, this place is pretty much exactly what I imagine.
It is view-tactular! No matter which way you turn…..incredible views!
If you have ever wondered whether God is in the details of your life, let my own be a prime example. Brooke & Paul fed us, talked with us and listened to our hopes for this new beginning and offered options to help us get this show on the road. After dinner, they drove us down to a property they own and showed us around to see if it would work to park our camper and live there while we get our feet back under us.
What?
Getting sent to Bozeman, Montana is thrilling! The fact that over 10,000 other excited newcomers are joining us in the search to put down roots is over-whelming! In the last 3 years, that’s the number of newbies have hit the streets of this mountain wonderland!
Housing. Nope. Not happening.
So, the details.
When we sold our house in Indiana…we made enough money to pay off some debt, put our belongings in storage, purchase a new camper and live off of the small amount that was left.
We. Were. Believing. God. Was. Opening. A. Door. Soon.
If not, we were going to work at Costco, Lowes, someone’s farm…whatever! Forget about education or degrees in this or that. None of it seemed to be working all these months, so….
We hit the road, traveled our way to visit Don’s parents and continued to apply for jobs EVERYWHERE in the country. Time just kept screaming by and nothing. Until June 29th!
Details. God is in the details.
We were almost to the end of our moola. I could really get sad and complain but I am eternally grateful that we were not completely tapped out and hungry. We can pay our bills, carefully and with great discipline. But there AIN’T no downpayment for a Montana house.
July 16th was the decided start date for Don at Bozeman Health. Yesterday, his new boss called and said it just wouldn’t work for them. They needed to push him off to the 30th! We were really hoping to get started and begin bringing in a real paycheck again. Instantly, I knew what that extra few weeks meant….
Our whole house is in a storage in Indiana.
We haven’t hugged our beautiful grown up kids since April & December.
Don has been out of his very important medicine for over a month and needs to see his Doc in Indiana.
We will not have time to go back and move our house to Montana once he starts work.
DETAILS.
Look, I could not…even in my pushy make things happen personality orchestrate all these very important details. God knew exactly what we needed and He managed to make room for every little issue. We need this extra time. We have to get our things here and this could not have worked out any better.
I want so badly to find a place to move my house into but there is just no opening for us financially right now. However, if I’ve learned anything through this last 2 years….it is DO NOT PUT GOD IN A BOX! He is in the details!
What I see as impossible, He proves over & over to be a matter of details.
I’m not worried, like before.
I’m not afraid, like before.
I’m not in a hole of doubt, like before.
I’m not concerned about the other 10,000 people searching or competing for a space to live, I believe God will provide for them and for me. No need to fret.
I’m not bummed out that I have to move from one storage to another right now. I’ll at least be able to get to my things again.
I’m not going to doubt God, He is working. Look where I am today!
(Denise, I TOOK THESE PICTURES!!)
The dark spot is a black bear on Ted Turner’s ranch.
FYI:
There are no parks with openings to set up our camper. None. They have waiting lists. God knew that so he gave us Brooke & Paul. They have property and even rental homes if the need arises.
Storage companies do not have any available space for the size of our house items. NONE! Again, waiting lists. I called a guy yesterday who flat out told me, I have NO SPACE. Before we hung up, he offered me a 10 x 20 storage space for $65. I pay $130 in Indy.
My dog Miss Lizzy has been very sick. The vet in Washington discovered heart disease and put her on 7 different medications. She just wasn’t improving to us. The first words out of Brooke’s mouth when we pulled up were YOU DO KNOW I’M A VET, RIGHT? Come on, Lord!
We are going to be okay.
God,
You see every need before I do. Thank you for working out all the details and I appreciate how you remind me to be patient. Good things really are coming!
Amen