God's Fingerprints

Yesterday afternoon we had the new house inspected. I was quite nervous about what problems might crop up on a 1954 home. When we had our current house inspected before we moved into it (it was built in 1950), there were a couple of fairly big issues that needed to be addressed. Well, it turns out that our "new" house has had extensive floor joist work, so now it's got a good solid floor. It also has a good roof and everything else checked out just fine. The homeowner even called Matt to explain all the work he had had done on the house. I shouldn't have been surprised, but I was. God has definitely gone before us in all of this.

Last night I was telling Matt how discouraged I was with the progress (or lack thereof) I have made on packing. I related to him all the small details I've seen the Lord work out already, but that I was really starting to worry about getting everything packed. My energy levels are pretty low right now and I haven't been sleeping well, which makes things worse. My pregnancy nausea has returned, but I know it's due to stress. So, we decided to pray for help.

This morning I went to my last Bible study of the year. I had planned on staying home to pack, but my friend encouraged me to take the time to go. I am so glad I went. It was so nice to get my focus back on Christ. We sang hymns and shared how the Lord has worked throughout the year in our lives. It was so encouraging to hear these stories from my sisters in the Lord. Afterwards, a gal from my group asked me if she could come help me pack next week. She said she's moved 5 times in the last 10 years, so I know she'll be a good help to me.

This afternoon the head elder from our church called and said he'd get a group of men together to help us move. My parents are going to hire some movers to get the furniture and piano over to the new house, but we'll still need plenty of man power for all the boxes. We also plan to move our chicken house (Matt's labor of love to me) and our shed (since we won't have a garage). It'll be nice to have some men to help with these projects.

I usually have a very difficult time accepting help from people, but the Lord has changed my heart in this area recently. At the beginning of our spica cast adventure with Joel, my sister-in-law said, "You'd better accept whatever offer of help you get and don't turn anyone down." Well, I've tried to put that into practice. Even Jesus let the women who followed Him minister to Him. A real test came to me the other day when my friend called and said she and her husband were going to have a woman go to our new house and clean the kitchen and bathrooms before we move in. Six months ago, I would have declined the offer, but I accepted, knowing that the Lord had prompted her to offer this gift to us.

I see God's fingerprints all over this "big move." It's just like Him to lavish so much grace. What a wonderful Savior we serve!