Unemployed

Romans 8:31b-32 "...If God is for us, who can ever be against us? Since he did not spare even his own Son but gave him up for us all, won't he also give us everything else?"

I'm unemployed. That's a good thing, really. I keep trying to tell myself that.

My husband got a long-awaited, long-overdue, and hard-earned promotion. No one was more deserving than him, and I'm extremely proud of and for him. But the promotion came with the price tag that we must move...again. It's the nature of the business, it is, and with new opportunities as large as my husband's promotion, comes relocation. Relocation to another state, our once-again home state of Arkansas.

Since the birth of our first child, 13 years ago, Heath and I have worked toward the goal of one day of me being able to stay at home and homeschool. I've homeschooled for years now, but I've always worked part-time, pastored, and sometimes, I've done both. It's been stressful, hard, tiring, and at times, my family didn't function so well. Now that Heath has transitioned to this new role, suddenly, all barriers have been removed! It's exciting right?

Well... the transition is complete. I'm bored. My kids are doing better than ever in school, and my house is spotless. I have time to read, to spend long periods of time in prayer, and I'm daydreaming of volunteer ministry opportunities. But in my heart, I've been discontent. How can I just sit here all day and be unproductive? Unproductive, some people may ask? That's the way I feel. Since I was 18 years old, I have been financially responsible for myself. I've worked since I was 16, taking upon a large portion even then of my financial burdens. I've been self-sufficient, self-reliant, and I've never asked anyone for anything.

And that's precisely the problem. My husband has worked his hands to the bone, literally some days, to give our family a gift, the gift of more time together, the gift of a less-chaotic household, and the gift to me of less-stressed living. He wants to be the sole provider of our family, and to extend to me what he pledged the day we were married. "All I have is your's," he said on our wedding day. All the while, I'm just trying to figure out a way to draw a paycheck.

This section of Romans 8 transitions from the former section, where Paul has explained the security of your relationship with Christ. There are no tricks, no loopholes, and no masks being worn. God is who He says He is, and He loves us so much that we willingly gave up His only son Jesus, so that we could be in a relationship with Him for eternity. And He proclaims that reasoning again here in 8:32, "Since he did not spare even his own Son but gave him up for us all, won't he also give us everything else?"

God desires to give us an inheritance and a place in His family. We don't even stop to realize how much God desires to meet our needs and to hold us in His hand. He wants to give us the free gift of salvation, and then He also wants to explain that NOTHING separates us from His love. Do we even realize sometimes that He loves us all so much? Romans 5:8 says, "Even while we were sinners..." He loved us even when we were in sin, and nothing changes that!

As I have tried to figure out the dynamic of my home while I'm not drawing an actual paycheck, my husband is happy as a lark that he is the sole bread winner. I've had the enemy on my shoulder, causing me to think that because I'm not employed, my husband will resent me. Will he see me as a moocher who sits on the sofa and eats bonbon's all day, I've wondered.

Of course he won't. He loves me, and I know it. The smell of PineSol, clean children, and pressed clothes in his closet prove I'm not sitting around all day. But the greatest thing of all, is that even when I do sit and watch HGTV for hours a day, he doesn't care. He loves me still.

That's the great thing about God too. When we're not at our best, He still loves us. Oh, His full desire is that we will work heartily to bring others to His kingdom. James tell us that works are indeed important. But faith must occupy them. But even when we're not at our best, and we just need to rest, He loves us still...just as much as He did before.



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Stress

Philippians 4:6 “Don’t worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank him for all he has done.” NLT

About the time I was winding down my weight-loss journey with only 10 pounds to go, my husband was transferred with his job out of state. We were moving 400 miles away, and we had to find a house, buy it, wrap up our jobs, say goodbye to strong friendships, and move, all within 4 weeks. It was stressful to say the least, especially considering our mortgage lender and our realtor’s staff seemed not too concerned with our tight deadline. What was quickly promised as “totally doable” when we communicated our moving date, suddenly was “highly unlikely,” the closer our date came. Every day, and sometimes multiple times a day, during that four weeks, I had to call the lender and the realtor to find out where we were in the process. And sure enough, when the day came to load the moving truck, we still weren’t sure of the exact closing date. We were driving our entire lives across that 400 miles with what was actually, nowhere to go. We were homeless. The closing date came and passed without signed papers, and I was stressed to the max. We ended up closing two days late, and I was livid. Everything we owned sat in a truck in my parents driveway for days until we signed those papers.

During that time, I gained 5 pounds. What was supposed to be a very delicate time of losing the last 10, ended up stress-filled. Even though I closely monitored my activity and nutrition, it was to no avail. The stress hormone had won, and I was its culprit. Stress keeps us from losing weight can actually cause us to gain it.

As a very high-strung person, stress is my weakness. I always feel like I have broad shoulders, and I can handle most problems myself. That personality trait tends though to harm me and actually, hinder my relationship with Jesus. He desires to handle our stress for us, but when we refuse to let it go, it does nothing but hurt us.

In this section of Paul’s letter to the Philippians, he addresses a small conflict that has arisen in the church. He encourages them to work through their disagreement and to allow God to free them from their worry. We must rejoice, he says and to be full of the joy of the Lord. Further, he says not to worry, pray, and be thankful. There it is. It’s the formula for less-stress living. 

Troubles arise, and there are seasons of life that natural stress bringers. Any change in life whatsoever can bring about stress, even in small amounts. But God doesn’t want us to live this way, and He can alleviate it, if we give it to Him. God loves us, His children, and doesn’t want us to worry about anything. He cares about our needs and invites us to talk to Him about everything.

What’s troubling you today? What causes stress in your life? Take some time to read through this chapter and pray about those things. He can handle them!

Encouragement for Today

John 14:27 “I am leaving you with a gift--peace of mind and heart. And the peace I give is a gift the world cannot give. So don’t be troubled or afraid.” NLT

Psalm 55:22 “Give your burdens to the Lord and he will take care of you. he will not permit the godly to slip and fall.” NLT

Friendship

Proverbs 17:17 says, "A friend loves at all times, and a brother [sister] is born for adversity." Friendship was never meant to be shared with someone for pure recreation and enjoyment. It was never solely meant for sharing good and fun times with others. However, it was a relationship created by God to strength one another, to encourage one another, and to walk with one another on days that are hard, bad, scary, and downright terrible.

My heart is heavy today. Today is my last day to live in Northwest Arkansas, and today is the day it's final.

These are my friends Kasey (left) and Melissa (right). The kind of friendship we've shared thus far has been far from the typical lunch dates and birthday party celebrations. I met both of them when they visited the church I pastored.

Melissa and her husband were first. I remember the day like it was yesterday. A few Sundays before Easter, it was a cold and windy day, and I was standing in the foyer, excited that we had visitors. Heath and I invited them over for dinner, and we became fast friends. Kasey and her boys visited for the first time about a year later, and I was excited when they returned the second Sunday! Her husband was able to come then too, and the three of us (as well as our husbands and children) soon started our weekly Sunday lunch dates.

I honestly believe that God put us together for the tumultuous times that we didn't even know were ahead. We've walked together through health issues, family/marriage issues, financial hardships, job changes, illnesses, and just plain 'ole bad days (and plenty of good ones too). We grieve when one of us grieves, and we share in one another's joy.

You see, this is the kind of friendship that tells the truth, even when it hurts, is uncomfortable, or makes us angry! We've committed to encourage one another and hold one another accountable in our lives and more importantly, in our relationship with Christ. We want what's best for one another, even if it's not what we want to hear!

Proverbs 24:26 says, "Giving an honest answer is the sign of true friendship."

For the past (almost) two years, I haven't been their pastor. But I'm still their friend. And they're still mine. We've met (we've tried) to meet once a week to catch up and do Bible Study, and share the Word of the Lord. A relational bond is quite strong. Emotional ties are hard to break, but a spiritual bond...those ties are impossible to break.

Even if I never live in close driving distance to these two ever again, I have a spiritual bond that will never be forgotten. How I'm thankful that God joins people together in friendship. And oh, how I'm thankful for technology that will allow us to see and keep in contact with one another.

Today, I have to deal with the fact that this is my last night in Northwest Arkansas, and I can no longer drive to the local McDonald's to see them in person. But I'll be thankful that my God knows no distance  and holds us all in his hand.