It’s nearly Christmas, I’m not even half ready, and I’m putting out a ministry report early… This report is about how God, and people, have ministered to me – how my Provider has provided…

In short review, the school bill turned out to be two bills, and a total beyond what I could pay with rent. My choice came down to keeping the job in North Indiana or moving to my parents’ home in Central Ohio (free rent & good cooking). Either choice had both good and not-so-desirable points. The one solution was to purchase and convert a box truck, but I was having difficulty finding one suitable, and my friends and family were having an impossible time of seeing value in that decision.

When you’re painted into a corner, talk to the Carpenter about a new door…

I told my employer and coworkers I would need to resign, but since our business is human services, I would hang in until the first week of January. Every time the decision was settled and I prepared to bid my friends farewell, someone would present another option – and that option would fall through. I got the paperwork to resign, and had it partially filled out, and there was another option, another waiting period. The director and I arranged to meet at 10am this morning, Wed, 12/19. The last option fell through on Sunday, and Monday, my coworker said “wait, there may be one more”.

Tuesday’s plan got completely scrambled – one critical thing got accomplished, shipping kitchen essentials to a deaf couple who lost their home to Hurricane Sandy. The rest of the day was a study in frustration, and I hadn’t heard from my coworker, with a decisive meeting looming. (cue the cliffhanger music) I went to bed befuddled and discouraged, no longer caring what the decision might be, but only that it would be securely made (and declared) by Him who knows the end of every path.

This morning, I woke with the strains of “Joyful, Joyful, We Adore Thee” running through my head. I am joyful when I take time to reflect on adoring God…I should do it more…and thus began (or resumed) our conversation.

My coworker arranged for me to meet the homeowner at 8:45 this morning (recall, resignation meeting with director is 10:00). I set the GPS for the address, and began driving through farmland between large houses. The address numbers went past what I was looking for, so I turned around (my car and I do this often). The numbers I sought were on a stone entryway with the hinges of an iron gate, and a long driveway lined with young trees leading to a stone and brick plantation house with a distinct center and wings on either side. I knocked softly, waiting for my coworker, and the door swung open to a friendly greeting and a foyer between two curved staircases. The view through the large windows along the back is inspiring, and I was told that the 2nd floor of the wing to the right would be mine – two bedrooms and a bath. The young man there now is the son of travelling evangelists, and will be moving out the end of the month. I will be moving in the first week of January.

She then told the story of how they came to own this house… Five years ago (when I was making earnest preparations to move for ministry training), her husband saw the empty house and decided on a whim to look it over. The following week, he brought his wife to look at it, and she believed that God was making arrangements for them to own this house, reason unknown. So they moved from where they had been for 16 years to where they now are and began renovations (he’s in the construction business). Perhaps my current need was their reason, she told me. Two daughters live in homes behind them, one on a farm with 25 horses and an open invitation for me to go riding. I plan to take them up on that offer, with joy!!

I’m not certain when the soundtrack in my mind switched over, but by the time I arrived at the office to meet with the director, I was singing an old chorus I grew up on:
“Living by faith in Jesus above…trusting, confiding in His great love…safe from all harm in His sheltering arm, I’m living by faith and feel no alarm.
I care not today what tomorrow may bring, shadows or sunshine or rain…the Lord I know ruleth o’er everything, and all of my worry is vain. Living by faith in Jesus above….trusting, confiding in His great love….safe from all harm in His sheltering arm, I’m living by faith and feel no alarm.”

It is December, and my Provider has provided, above what I would have asked or have thought.

p.s. – The meeting with the director included a short discussion on how capable a deaf person could be with our clients, if only given an opportunity. Pray that the opportunity is granted and expanded, as we have a couple of deaf clients in need of care and several deaf people in need of work.

Merry Christmas!