Over the past two years, God has given my husband and I confirmation after confirmation that his plan for us has been to work together on Faithful Provisions. A little over two years ago my husband was downsized from his job, and after much prayer and waiting, he made the decision to join me and help make Faithful Provisions our sole income and business. (See our Video Story HERE.)
Waiting
Just a few short weeks ago my husband accepted an amazing opportunity to work outside the home. This wasn’t something we were pursuing or really asking for, but a change in the road that God planned for us. While the decision was a little difficult at first, because we have grown to love this new lifestyle, but God gave us clear confirmation every step along the way it was time for a change.
My husband is my best friend and over the last two years our marriage has grown stronger. I feel this has happened because of the time we have been able to spend together. It has been quite unique and while I am sad it is over, I know God gave us this blessing to prepare us for our long life together. We have been growing closer, out of our upward movement towards the Lord.
You see, one of the greatest lessons we learned over the past years was to wait on the Lord and let Him lead us. For me especially, this was very hard. I don’t like to “wait”, I am not the most patient person, and quite frankly, I just like to cross things off my to-do list. When we sat down to do our 2011 Goal Setting and Planning, we reflected on 2010 and saw that the lesson God wanted us to learn, was to wait on Him.
A Good Change
My initial reaction, when I think about what this new change brings, in my flesh I want to be dramatic and say “it was so hard but we did it!” But honestly, what I thought was going to be hard wasn’t. The financial piece, which is usually the most difficult, was actually quite comfortable. God was so good. He provided for us each and every day. While we didn’t have room for lots of “extras” over the past two years, it was enough. Our basic needs, and then some, were taken care of.
The hard part…was the waiting.
God’s Perfect Timing
Each month as we did budgets, wrote posts, scheduled and planned workshops, attended conferences, and even hired different vendors for projects, God’s timing was always perfect. For instance, the site redesign had been in the works for over six months. There were a myriad of things that caused it’s delay, but God, in his perfect timing, provided the right resources at the right times. If I would have had it my way, the project would have been done too early for us to rest comfortably because we went over budget. But with the new income, we were able to absorb the extra costs without the stress of “how are we going to pay this?”
Another example of God’s perfect timing came a few weeks ago, when my husband was offered the new position. The timing of this was perfect. You see, he had been working on a big project that was coming to an end. Once that was over, we were going to have to make some decisions on next steps and direction for Faithful Provisions. The project was completed on Friday and on the following Tuesday, he was offered the job.
Lesson Learned: God is never too early, He is never too late, He is always on time. God has absolute perfect timing.
A New Season
Although I still have lots of help, Faithful Provisions is now fully in my lap. It is not going anywhere, I promise (well, unless God directs us otherwise!) Many things have had to be put on the back burner. Prioritization is key for me now. Lots of ideas and posts I want to share with you now, namely recipes, are being slid back until I have more time to get them together. But, I promise I haven’t forgotten. They are forthcoming!
As I enter this new season of life, I am adjusting to new schedules and workloads, so please be patient with me. Again, God has been so amazingly good. Despite what I initially would have seen as impossible, He has provided the resources, time and opportunities to make things very possible.
Letting Go
The last few weeks have been a true “giving it up to God” time for me. There were times when my old self would have completely stressed out and locked-up. God in his sovereign grace has pointed me towards him every step of the way. This transition has been joyful and my life is so full, sometimes I feel like my heart will burst.
As I write this, I’m reflecting on all your thoughtful emails, comments and words of encouragement. Not only has God provided me with an amazing platform to share what He is doing in and through us, but He has done it with a group of readers that are quite unique in that you are positive, uplifting voices in a medium that can often be quite the opposite.
Be excited because the next few months will be bringing fun and different resources for you! Thank you for reading.
I am so happy for your family:) I too am always in a “hurry” to mark it off the list. I often find myself reading the Prayer of Jebez…I ask God to lead me where I will be of the most use and to expand my fields to serve HIM! It is sometime our sinful nature that we look up and say”Really God?” But as I get older I find so much piece in knowing that I try to follow His plan, His way:) Blessing to your family on the Changes.
Kelly,
thanks for sharing your heart and how God is working in the lives of you and your family. as always, thanks for all you do.
Thanks for sharing. You are so right, God’s timing is perfect. Sometimes when we’re waiting it’s so hard to remember or understand. I don’t get the time to read your posts regularly, but God was tugging on me to take the time to read this today.
I love when you post scripture on Facebook, too. Sometimes it’s the littlest things that get us through the day!
Thanks for sharing this blog post. I think the lessons we have to learn in life come in many different forms. Even though some of them are hard, they are so valuable. Learning to depend on God and his timing is a very valuable lesson. May God bless you and the work you do!
How aptly named your website is! My sister told me about your website a little while ago, and I pass it on to people I know as well. My hubby is military and with only a few more years to retirement we’d been thinking about settling down in TN. My sister sent me your website link and I’ve been hooked ever since. I don’t have a lot of time on the net these days (even with a blog), but you have such wonderful resources that help save time & money that it’s been a God-send for my family. So I thank you for all you and your husband (and family) have done to accomplish so much on this site, and praise the Lord & Congratulations on your husband’s new venture!
Thank you for this post! It is such an encouragement to my heart. My husband has been job hunting for 4 years and just last week was hired into a great position. God’s timing was perfect as I had lost my job at the end of last year and it was scary thinking that we didn’t even have ONE income to keep us afloat. But God is always in control and as always took care of our needs.
My husband and I have a small business that helped keep us afloat during the lean years and we loved working together. I know you cherished that time with your husband when you worked together and I’m sure God made your relationship stronger through those days.
Your couponing tips have helped us so much while we have been trying to conserve money. Thank you so much for sharing your tips with us as it is truly a blessing to many of us.
This is absolutely beautiful. Thank you for sharing this. So excited for both of you to see where God is leading you!
It’s your heart that come through in posts like this that keep me coming back to your site and supporting you! Thank you for being a light in the dark world. God will honor those who put their trust in Him. It won’t always be easy (in fact many times it’s really hard), but He is in control. His ways are true. Congratulations to your husband on the new job! We’ll be praying for you as you make this adjustment in your family. Keep up the good work. What you have done for my husband and I through your ministry is incredible. Two years ago we would have never been in the financial position to be called as full-time missionaries, but here we are, ready to go and we owe it in large part to what we learned from you! Thank you!
Thank you for sharing so much of your family’s journey with us. My fiance is the more faith-based person in our relationship and it makes him very happy to see that I am getting God’s word along with coupon and savings info. I am happy to say I am leaning much more in the right direction these days, and I have wonderful people like you out there to thank for that.
Bless you Kelly. Thanks for sharing your post!
Thank you so much for sharing this & for this website! My husband & I just had our first baby, a 2 month old girl, and I quit my job to stay home with her. My husband is working at a new job that God provided in just the right time to enable me to be a stay at home mom. Our monthly budget is still very tight, but God has blessed us time and again with financial provision just when we needed it. God is so good but sometimes it really takes us a long time to learn that. 🙂
Kelly – thanks so much for your blog and the effort & hard work that go into it. May God continue to bless you and your family as you enter into this new season of your lives!