Providence

A couple of months ago one of my friends, Ruthie at The Chronicles of Ruthie Hart, wrote a blog post about providence that I absolutely loved. I highly recommend reading it, and it got me thinking of different examples of God's providence in my own life. Providence is this: the foreseeing care and guidance of God over us. We don't hear the term providence a lot; instead we hear coincidences. Providence is God-given coincidence. I honestly do not believe in coincidences. At all. I think even the littlest things are gifts from God, and we so often forget. I could give you hundreds of instances of God's providence in mine and Parker's life. Amidst the stress and all of life's little hiccups, we constantly feel blessed. Parker has definitely been the biggest reminder of providence in my life. He will say or do something, and I just stop and think "Wow God, you created this amazing person specifically for me!" Here are a few other examples of God's providence in our lives:

Darla
Darla was an injured, abandoned puppy that showed up on our doorstep one cold night in Florida. Parker and I are animal lovers, so it was not a difficult decision to take her in and try to find her owner. We went door-to-door for almost three hours the next morning, and no one had claimed her. She was still hurt and didn't belong to anyone. It would have been so easy to just take her to the pound, but we knew they would put her down as soon as she got there. She was too hurt. We prayed for Darla and agreed we would do whatever we needed to do to help her. We took her to the vet, got her up to date on shots, and learned she had been hit by a car and had fractured legs and hips. We started praying for a home for Darla. I was so worried we wouldn't find one, which was silly. God had guided this entire situation from the get-go. Two days later, one of our friends, Tiffany, came to see Darla. She instantly fell in love with her, and they are the perfect pair. I love that God used Parker and me to bring Tiffany and Darla together. You can read Darla's full story here.  It was no coincidence Darla showed up on our doorstep. He knew what He was doing, and I am so thankful He let us be a part of this story. God's providence.

Our House
In January, we found out our landlord was selling the house we were renting. Our lease was up, and it was looking like we were going to have to move. We only had four more months left in Florida, and we were going to have to pack up and move out. Honestly, it was a nightmare. I posted about our struggle to stay in our house here. It didn't seem like there was any hope, but we did all we could to just let go and give the situation to God. It turned out the house was a short sale, which bought us at least 90 days. The house was under-priced and sold immediately, so it looked like we were still going to have to leave. We kept praying, and God answered. The guy who bought the house closed two weeks before we moved out, but because he was already in a lease through the next couple of months, he let us stay. I think God used this experience to teach us to fully trust Him. It wasn't a coincidence that it ended up being a short sale or that the buyer was already in a lease. God's providence.


My Job
I haven't ever really blogged about my job before other than saying I work full-time in marketing. I graduated a year before Parker, and I was blessed to find a job in College Station so that we could keep living in the same city. I applied for a job with a high-end jeweler that I was so excited about. It was high energy and all about glam and being extroverted, and I so badly wanted it. I found out I didn't get it, and I was crushed. I was offered another job as Director of Marketing and Sales for a technology company, and a job was a job, so I happily accepted it. The jewelry company came back two months later with a different job, but I didn't want to leave the company I was with, so I declined. I started really enjoying my job, but I knew it was a means to an end because Parker was going to commission at the end of the year, and we were going to move to Florida. My company provides Wi-Fi for businesses, and we actually got a huge contract with the Navy a few months before Parker was set to commission. I thought it was a neat coincidence. I hate that I thought it was just a coincidence, but at that point in my life, I did. I went into my boss' office a month before Parker commissioned so he could start looking for my replacement, and he asked if I wanted to continue working from home. Since I was going to be on different Navy bases, they could use me to do on-site marketing. Did I hear that right? Was I going to get to take my job with me to my new home? I couldn't believe it! I just felt so blessed and so humbled that God had given me this opportunity. Other military spouses can attest to the fact that it's hard for us to find good jobs. Nobody wants to hire you if you're only going to be there for a year or so. Two and a half years later, and I am still with the same company. Not getting the job with the jewelry company, my current company getting a contract with the Navy- none of this was coincidence. God's providence.


"And we know that in all things God works together for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose." - Romans 8:28

God has continually showed His providence in all aspects of our lives, and I am so incredibly humbled by it. The fact that He has so intricately planned and purposed the lives we are living is something I can't even put into words. All I can do is be thankful and trust in His providence for my life.

I'd love to hear about God's providence in your own life!