Waiting

Waiting. Waiting. Waiting. 
It's hard.

• We would love to sell our house in order to free us up financially for our move. We are waiting for that right buyer.
• We have 20% of the support raised for living in Lesotho next year, and we are thankful to all of you who are lovingly supporting us financially and in your prayers. We are waiting for the rest of our support to come in. 
• My biopsy results came in this week: squamous cell carcinoma. I'm waiting for a new doctor to take a look at the results and determine the next course of action (which will most likely be digging out a chunk of skin until all the surrounding cells are clear). That appointment takes place a few days after my insurance runs out. 

Earlier this week I was paging through a devotional by Charles Stanley entitled, God's Way Day by Day. I had put sticky notes on favorite selections, and the first one marked was entitled Today and Tomorrow. Stanley writes,

Friend, the God who is in control of today is also the God who is fully in control of tomorrow. He has already prepared for what will happen to you! He has already provided what you will need tomorrow. He has already anticipated the problems you will face tomorrow and has set into motion everything required to resolve those problems (July 21). 

I have reread those words several times this week. God is in control. Our job: trust in the Lord through all the twists and turns. He will direct our paths. 

The Proper Time

Psalm 104:27- 28 New International Version (NIV)

²⁷ All creatures look to you
    to give them their food at the proper time.
²⁸ When you give it to them,
    they gather it up;
when you open your hand,
    they are satisfied with good things.

It has been an incredible week! Beth and I decided to divide and conquer, and so we created teams (although we don't have a lot of team members yet! :) My team, Team Dawnting, is in charge of preparing the house for rent or for sale...whichever happens first. This includes painting a few rooms, making sure everything is in working order, and basically putting our best foot forward. Beth's team, Team B-queath, is in charge of selling or giving away all the things we will not be taking with us. Our joint effort: to mail out at least 300 letters asking friends and family for prayer and financial support. That required a lot of searching for addresses, stuffing envelopes, and making daily trips to the post office to buy stamps and mail batches of letters. Mission accomplished!



A week ago, I was running an errand with Beth and Dakotah when our vehicle was struck by another car. Although no one was hurt and not a lot of damage was done, I was a little upset because it was my first accident, ending a career of accident-free driving and bragging rights which were often evoked when Beth made comments about my driving. (In case it's not common knowledge, Beth is the one who totaled two cars in the last 8 years. It's hard to fathom why she would have the audacity to critique my driving!) Anyway, immediately after exchanging information with the other driver and finishing up with our car insurance company, we received a text that a potential buyer wanted to look at our house in the next 20 minutes. That was about how long it would take for us to get home, and so we dashed off. 

When we arrived home, the other party was waiting with their agent. They took less than ten minutes to wander through the house, but shortly afterward we learned that they intended to put in an offer that night. Their agent came by later to waive a check under our noses as a demonstration of serious intent. Too easy! Our house had been on the market for less than 5 hours!

The next day came, and we eagerly anticipated a call from our realtor, wondering what the offer might be. Later in the day we found out the other party had changed their mind and had pulled out. Disappointing.

Time is ticking. Later this month we will receive our last paychecks from Ontario Christian and our medical insurance will expire. I had a biopsy yesterday, and it crossed my mind that it would be an "inconvenient truth" to end up with a serious medical diagnosis as my insurance comes to an end. There are so many variables at play right now.

That brings us to Psalm 104. The truth is that there has never been a time when we have not had to look to God for our provision. He will provide us with what we need when we need it. There is no point in becoming anxious about tomorrow. We have a Father that loves us dearly and will open His hand to satisfy us with good things. We must choose to remember, finding rest only in His care.