Loyal

I am in a perpetual state of awe when I sit down and really think about the goodness of my King. I have felt Him in such tangible ways the past two months.  I have moved in and out of grief and joy and despair and He just continues to gently guide and remind me that His love is never-failing.  One of my favorite songs these days is Lauren Daigle’s “Loyal”.  My favorite verse talks about how He hears every time I speak and He sees everything, even the things I want to hide.  It goes on to talk about His love being loyal, more faithful than the rising sun and that I can never outrun His grace for me.  I can tell you that each step of walking in this new faith journey has been covered in all of this.  He is so loyal, friends.  He is so good.  His heart is for us, all the time, forever.  And this week has been another testament to how deeply He cares for His children.

All week, I’ve had tiny reminders that He is fully involved in what we feel are insignificant pieces of our lives.  It started with fresh eggs.  We left behind our three hens because we aren’t allowed to have them here in teacher housing.  They went to a fantastic home where they are well-loved and well fed.  Eggs are expensive and when you are feeding a family of five, they are REALLY DANG expensive.  Long story short, He provides.  We have been introduced to a lady who has LOADS of eggs and sells them for just enough to replace her feed.  WHAT?!?!?!

When we decided I’d home school the girls, I began dreaming of what it would look like to have a home school co-op here.  There aren’t any currently, and I knew I’d have to be the one to put something together.  I had dreams of teaching other women how to educate their children at home because sometimes its insanely hard for families here to get their little ones to school.  Who I am though, right?  This is the first time we’ve done this…but that still, small voice has been there, begging to be heard.  And then on Monday of this week, I had three mama’s contact me and ask if we could chat about what it’s like to home school and how they could get started. He cares so much for the deepest desires of our hearts…why wouldn’t He, He placed them there in the first place!!

We’ve been searching for months for a mini schnauzer.  When we began discussing, as a family, the potential for getting a puppy, we also discussed names.  The one the kids and I had our hearts set on was Oscar Mesa, Mesa for short.  I can not tell y’all the number of emails and phone calls J and I have made over the past months, only to be told every time, “Oh, I’m sorry, we forgot to remove our ad.” or “Oh, we just sold the last puppy about thirty minutes ago.”  To say we were beginning to slide towards being disheartened would be an understatement.  However, I kept reminding myself and the girls that our dog hadn’t found us yet.  Then, Wednesday night, I emailed a gentleman about his ONE male puppy.  He emailed me back and said we could come get him.  Great news, right?  But y’all, listen to how good my Father is…the gentleman we bought our puppy from, his name was Oscar.  He was in Mesa, AZ.  I can’t make this stuff up!!  He literally lead us to exactly the pup we were supposed to have!!  Here’s a photo of our little guy.

On the way home from picking up Mesa, it got dark.  The kids and I were traveling alone and y’all it gets REALLY dark in the desert at night.  We were coming through Flagstaff and my low tire warning light came on in the van.  First, I had cell phone service.  That is a miracle.  Second, we were no more than 200 yards from a gas station.  Also a miracle. Third, the puppy was sleeping, Little Man was sleeping and the girls were quietly watching a movie-miracle.  I called J and he began walking me through my best options.  While on the phone with J, the gas station lights went out.  The attendant walked out and locked the door.  I had a temporary internal panic attack.  Should I also mention it was 47 degrees.  That is COLD for this southerner!  The attendant turned around and I felt like I needed to ask him for help.  I told him the situation and that I was traveling alone with the kids…who tells a perfect stranger those things?  I asked if he’d be willing to use my flashlight and help me check out my tires.  He was AMAZING.  He went back inside the station, turned the lights back on so we could see better and then went to his truck and got his pressure gauge.  He checked each of my tires and because I have a husband who is typically OCD about things, I had an air pump in the van.  He then aired up my low tire, told me to be safe and to have a good rest of the night.  Can we say Good Samaritan? He was headed home, to his wife and children he hadn’t seen all day.  He very simply could have said he wasn’t able to help but instead he told me his prayer was that someone would make the CHOICE to help his wife and kids if they were ever in the same situation.  That gentleman chose love and kindness on Thursday night and I am forever grateful.

My Father goes before me.  Of that much I am certain.  And y’all, I’m so, so glad he does. So while this season has been far from perfect, my family and I are covered in His infinite grace.  We were made specifically for this season, this calling and for this place.  Oh, I miss my little island home, some days way more than others, but I also know we are walking His path and I wouldn’t change that for the world.