Great is Thy Faithfulness

It’s my first blog post! I just wanted to take a minute before the rush of the holidays to write a Thanksgiving post.  When I was a teen, I used to write a journal entry every Thanksgiving. That journal entry always had a list of 101 things that I was thankful for that year. Although I’m sure I could list 101 things that I am thankful for, I’m not going to make you read all that. However, I am thankful for many things this year and I wanted to take a moment to share how God has provided for Steven and I this year.

As many of you know, Steven and I made the decision last fall that we wanted to move to North Carolina. We had planned on saving money in 2013 so that we could afford a move. We knew that our lease would be up in December of 2013 and we planned to be ready to move at the end of it. While we were saving, I also requested a transfer with Kohl’s the week of Black Friday 2012. I knew that transfers take time and I also needed to wait for a supervisor position to become available. Even if one did, I knew that most managers fill from within their store. I submitted a list of about 10 stores in the Charlotte area that I was interested in.

Around the same time, Steven was promoted to Director of Training for Sizzler. We then put our plans of moving on the backburner to see how his new position would go. We were still saving but since I hadn’t heard anything in regard to the transfer, we kept going about in our normal routine. As March 2013 rolled around, the Apparel and Accessories Supervisor (1-3) position at my store become temporarily available while the current supervisor was out on maternity leave.  Although my manager had not made an official offer, I knew it was coming. During the last week of March, the day that my manager was going to make the offer, I got a call from a manager at Kohl’s in Waxhaw, North Carolina. After talking to her for over an hour, I knew that this was a real opportunity and the timing wasn’t an accident. Because I knew my store was going to ask me to be the temporary 1-3, I called my manager and let her know about the NC call I had just received. She then gave me the formal job offer and left the choice up to me. Long story short, Steven and I did a lot of talking, praying, and seeking advice. Do I take a temporary position for the “experience” or do I take this job while it is offered and start over like we dreamed? By the end of that last week in March, we had made the decision for me to move without him and he would join me later that summer.  That was a REALLY hard decision for us to make, but at the time it was necessary.  

Three weeks later, our stuff was packed and in storage and Steven, Onyx and I were on the road to NC. I was going to go and live for a few weeks with one of my Mom’s cousins (who I’d only met about 2 times when I was a kid). Angela heard through the family grapevine that we wanted to move and opened up her home to me until I could find and move into an apartment. She was a HUGE blessing. Before Steven returned to CA, we were able to find a great apartment that had everything we needed and that was secure for me to stay in alone until he could move too. It was also around this time that we got bad news too. Steven had been back in CA for about 2 weeks after leaving me in NC, when we found out that his grandmother had been diagnosed with Acute Leukemia, a quick, terminal cancer. I was heartbroken that I couldn’t be with my husband when all of us were worried about Barbara. Steven was in CA dealing with that while I was in NC starting our new life. That was a very difficult, emotional time on both of us. In June I was able to move out of Angela’s and into the apartment. My mom flew from CA to help me get all situated and my NC family came and helped me move all my stuff to the third floor apartment that Steven and I had found.

By the start of July, Steven was able to turn in his notice. I flew to CA, spent some time with my family and friends. We also made a point to spend time with Barbara, because we didn’t know if or when we’d see her while she was still healthy enough to enjoy company. We were not sure how quickly the cancer was going to move. It was a hard goodbye when we left the restaurant after dinner. We got Steven’s things together and then made that crazy long drive again! This time, with my husband coming home for good!

About two weeks after Steven got here he was offered a job bartending at Aloft Hotel. It is a full-time position that is in the evenings so that he can go back to school like he wants to do. That same week, I was also offered the Apparel and Accessories Supervisor Position at my new store. After only having been at that store for 3 months I had already earned the “temporary” promotion that I turned down in CA, only this time it was permanent! To add to our joy was the news that his grandmother’s cancer had been misdiagnosed and that she had a low-grade lymphoma. Still cancer, but it has a 97% survival rate. She went from having a death sentence to having hope for life.

Steven and I have had a whirlwind of a year. We are still discovering places in our new home. We still are looking for a church family to worship with. We still are deciding where and when Steven will go back to school. We still have to get my car registered in NC. And many other decisions, but God has opened doors all along this long road that we have traveled this year. I know that He will take care of these things as well.

So this year among the small things like having a warm bed, food, and the cutest rabbit in the world, I’m thankful for God’s provision. He certainly did not do things on my timetable. We were up and moved months before we thought we would be. Somehow, God gave us the courage to trust His plan and His direction. As a result He has provided.

Great is Thy Faithfulness, Lord unto me