Catching up - the heavy post

Well as I'm sure you guessed by my lack of posting, there has been a lot going on in our lives right now.....

Andy will be losing his job in March. Andy's dad, Ken, is not doing well and will not be with us for much longer. 4 of the 5 of us had the Swine flu (not me!) and then Andy followed his up with a scary bought of Pneumonia! Wowsers! I'm ready for life to calm down a bit!

Here's a few more details for those who may be interested.... Andy's department is being moved to Denver. So technically he could still have a job, but we'd have to move to Denver. We've considered that option (one perk is that they'd sell our house for us and pay the Realtor fees!) but that would mean saying goodbye to all of our friends and family. At this point we don't feel like that's something we want to do.

So, we are joining the many people who are looking for a job in Oregon. We've found a few things to apply for, but its pretty depressing at how much is NOT out there right now. Our mind has gone down the road of what happens if Andy can't find a job...... Could we survive on unemployment? For how long? Could we sell our house before we lost it? Where would we go? What we do? Questions, question, questions....

At times it all feels overwhelming and I begin to ask the what if and why questions. What if we had stayed in England longer and Andy could have gotten his PhD? Would he be a professor now and still have a job? Why is this all happening? Will we ever get to a place where we don't have this stress hanging over us? When can we just settle down and enjoy life? These questions have brought me to foot of Christ, and I hear him reminding me that this world is not our home.

Oh yeah, that's right! We're not going to reach that point where everything is in place and we can just sit back and enjoy the ride. The Bible is full of reminders that this world is not our home. "Store up treasures in heaven...."
"In this world you will have trials, but take heart, I have overcome the world...."
"Outwardly, we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day...."
"We are but a vapor..."

So, yes we are in a hard season. Yes, I've shed tears as I wonder at the unknown that lies ahead. At the same time I am so thankful. I'm thankful for hard times that make me long to be with my Father in Heaven. Times where I'm drawn to my knees in prayer. Times that I'm reminded that God is our ultimate provider. Times where I have nothing left to do but to simply trust in the Creator of the universe.

How thankful I am for the hope that I have in Christ!!