A Friend Who Holds Up - Three Weeks In

The past three weeks have gone by so quickly. Most of the days have been great, but I've experienced the odd bad day too. Being working mom is NOT easy -  let me tell you, it's FAR more challenging than staying at home. And praise God, it's NOT something I will be doing for too much longer (3 weeks down, 14 weeks to go!) But in the midst of this trying time, I have been truly blessed by a number of godly people. I really don't know how I'd make it through the next three months without them.

From the minute Justin and I found out we were pregnant with Isaiah, we began wrestling with the idea of me going back to work for a four month period. Before we became pregnant, the thought of me going back to work never crossed our minds. But since the opportunity that presented itself to us was almost too good to be true, we couldn't help but feel like God had set things up this way so that, in one final push, our family could be 100% debt-free by the end of 2015. We've never had a lot of debt, but the small amount we do have is not something we want to continue to carry. We want to do our best to owe no one anything.

Before we found out we were pregnant, God had already been convicting us about this issue. So, we vowed as a family to do our best to live within our means. That means buying all vehicles outright and using no credit for anything. The timing of everything that came about (the pregnancy, the timeline for MAT leave, the childcare that fell into perfect place, etc.) was impeccable, and we felt that God was truly blessing us with an incredible opportunity. On a side note, I think it’s also amazing how we didn’t “plan” this pregnancy either! We didn’t think about the timeline of MAT leave or anything of the sort… God surprised us with Isaiah, and did so the very month we decided to give our fertility/number of children over to Him. How cool is that? One month earlier or later and this” perfect plan” would not have worked. But by God’s grace, He gave us the faith to pursue this path at exactly the right time!

Anyway, I wanted to share this devotional because it really hit home for me. When all this became a reality and we finally decided that four months at work was worth it for our family, I didn’t realize to what extent we would come to rely on and cherish our church family. Not only to provide childcare for Roman, but for other things as well. Things like writing me an encouraging note to lift me up, showing up at my door to give me a hug at exactly the right time, letting me drop by on EVERY lunch break to see Roman or simply praying for my family on a regular basis. God had not only ordained this “plan” for us, but he also revealed to us our need for community. Our need to live amongst God’s people in tribe. These people have truly showed me what it means to be a "friend who holds up”. I’ve cried with them, prayed with them, benefited from their love and so much more. So today, I just wanted to say thank you specifically to a number of people who have gone out of their way to be there for me in this season. I love you all and vow to be there for you when you need me too. You've demonstrated what it means to be a "friend who loves at all times". A friend who doesn't stay silent in the storm, but who steps up and walks through rough waters with me. I feel humbled. I feel blessed. I feel like I understand a deeper meaning to what friendship is. So, thank you. Be Blessed. 

 

 

THE DEVO:

http://jamesmacdonald.com/teaching/devotionals/2015-07-06/