The last two weeks

We have held back alot of information in the past two weeks. When something traumatic and sad happens like Lutalo dying, our immediate reaction is not to blog about it, though Amy finally did after a few days. When that happened and compounded what I'm going to explain here, we were too overwhelmed with all that was going on to have the energy or desire to blog about it for hours. The lessons we learned from Lutalo's death (that Amy wrote about) can stand alone, but they make more sense when viewed in the big picture of how God is working in our lives right now.

Many of you know that we came to Indiana to attend a log building school, with the intent of getting a job in that trade upon the completion of school. You may also know that we have intended to stay here since the time I unofficially accepted a job offer from the teacher/owner of the school about six weeks ago. We like this area and we have found friends and good churches here. Everything seemed to be working out for us until we recognized that the situation at school and my future job was headed in the wrong direction. It isn't my purpose here to argue a great case for my decision, but we decided we needed to pull out of that situation right away - the school in week 9 of 12, and the job that would begin May 21st. Two Thursdays ago (the 26th), we followed through on our decision and found ourselves back at square one in the vocation/employment search. I hadn't had a job since February 1st, and wouldn't have had one until May 21st as it was, so we really were no worse off financially that we had been. The obvious choice would have been to start looking for log building jobs in other states, but to do so would have been to ignore the God who was behind and in control of the situation.

We felt God moving on our hearts more strongly in the week or so leading up to this change, and it was no coincidence that our year or so long interest in foreign missions was peaking. In the month or so prior to that, a number of things made me question whether I would really be doing what I had once thought I would this Summer. It was one of those feelings where you think you want something, but you just suspect that it isn't going to play out and you can see how that might be okay or even better than if it did play out. That is how I felt. Right before we made the decision to change course we identified it as a matter of obedience to God, not just a matter of what we thought we wanted or what we thought was best. It was as if God was saying "Get out, now, and watch what I do." We didn't argue.

So that is where we are - out of the old situation but still in Martinsville, Indiana. We know that God isn't calling us to go somewhere else for log building right now. We believe he has something for us right here, and we trust him to reveal it to us in his time. We are learning that God's plans for us are always bigger than what we plan for ourselves, and we know during this time of transition and uncertainty he is looking for our trust and unconditional obedience.

Who would have thought that three days after our obedience in this matter God would have allowed Lutalo to be taken from us? We wouldn't have, but even in that we see him transforming us into the people he wants us to be. Since that time a housing situation we had only dreamed about has become available, and I am pursuing a job opportunity that is far more than meets the eye. I will write about it later when I know more, but suffice it to say this is a time of rapid growth and change in our lives, by far the most exciting one we have ever experienced.