Part One
Part Two...
Well our little girl arrived..13 months younger than our son born before her. Our oldest son was not yet 3. Three kids in less than three years...all in diapers! Yes..ALL in diapers! My first potty training experience was a nightmare! Some days it was really hard to smile... hard to think beyond the storm that sucked me in with a mighty rushing wind. In the world's eyes I was too young to be married...much less have three babies by the age of 22. But in God's eyes...He had a plan! When I surrendered my life to Him...I willingly placed all my hopes,dreams and desires into His hands. I loved being a wife and mom...if only all this other stormage(I made that up) would disappear! Again getting my eyes off of the one guiding me through...I would trip and fall...bumping into walls all around. Looking for a door to escape. Each day I would hear my Lord whisper..."I have a plan...just trust me!" Trust is really difficult when your whole world is diapers and wondering if you will ever have a home of your own. Patience is not my best quality! Our fellowship...the one we helped start... was our place of refuge. Friends who supported us through prayer and fellowship...they may never know how important they were to our little family way back then. And our families...they were our backbone. They were extra hands and feet. They fed us ...clothed us ...and gave us shelter. They loved us during one of the most difficult times of our married life.
As we continued to seek the Lord over the next year...things began to change. Finally...a light at the end of this very long tunnel. My husband left the concrete work...glady...and began to work for GSA. Not long afterwards... he applied for a couple of positions out of state. One in Virgina and one in Memphis Tennessee. November 1989 Memphis bound...we left my in-laws with a truck load of our belongings that we hadn't seen since moving from our little home in Snellville...two years earlier. Thanks to our dear friends for storing our life in their basement all that time. Off we went headed to Memphis Tennessee...leaving behind our family and friends. We often talk about the timing of it all. God knew it was time for us to learn to be a family. As hard as it was for us to leave our home state...it was the best decision we ever made!
The next three years were a growing experience. Finding a church home wasn't as easy as we had thought. We had been attending a Calvary Chapel the whole time we had been married. And there was not a Calvary to be found anywhere in Memphis. We did attend a couple of different fellowships over the next three years...but really missed our church back home! About 8 months after moving to Memphis we were blessed to find God was giving us yet another gift. This time was so much better...less stress...and no one was in diapers! Our precious daughter was born 9 months later with a sweet and quiet spirit! Now a family of 6 and I had a home of my own...enjoying being just a wife and mom.
I sometimes wonder why God allows us to go through some of the things that we struggle with. Some things we do... they seem so insignificant now and at times seem crazy to others...but may play a major role in our lives years down the road. My husband was in the Navy right out of high school. While there he surrendered his life to Christ and felt God was telling him to resign. He obeyed the Lord and resigned. Because of his obedience... years later his short term in the Navy was just long enough for him to receive VA status. Over the years that status has helped in many ways...jobs,homes etc. Had he resigned any earlier he never would have received that status. Had he not resigned...he might have missed out on God's blessing. God's timing is always perfect! I often think how different my life would be if I had not chosen to obey the Lord. How many blessings I would have missed had I looked through the world's eyes.God sees the whole picture...he sees beyond the struggles...beyond the pain and hurt. God give me your eyes to see beyond the craziness of this life!
More later....part three!
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