The Faithfulness of God: Part 3

Here we were, in the country with about a week's notice.

The boys attended their first day of school and immediately knew that they were in a foreign place. All the talk of 'breaking horses' and barrel racing over summer break, it was like another language being spoken. Yet, they both liked it.

We raced right into the fall attending Will's football games on Tuesday evenings. This gave us the opportunity to become more familiar with our new area. I spent a lot of time online finding out where some of these small towns were located and how to get to their football stadiums.

We had the pleasure of meeting up with some old friends after a game on one road trip. Derryl and Lea Ann had moved from Houston nearly ten years earlier. It was nice to know that familiar faces waited for us...at least once.

Jim spent his weekends clearing trees and cutting fire wood. I tried the various grocery stores in the surrounding communities trying to find the 'best' place to shop. The kids held paint ball games at the back of the property. We were really enjoying the new pace of life.

Plans for the house, however, were not progressing. We were stumped. We were just not able to find a plan that we both liked and our attempts at designing our own was met with frustration. (We had seen enough self designed houses that made you ask, "why is this located here?" and we didn't want that hanging over our heads if we ever decided to sell.)

In early November, on a total whim (a God-thing, really), Jim decided to check out the Internet for local mobile home deals. He found a great deal at a local establishment. He asked me what I thought...and to be honest I was ready to not be crossing the grass every morning to get to the bathroom! (Thank goodness for a mild fall.) He called, but it had already been sold.

The following week the dealer called to say that he had a mobile home that was similar and to ask if we might be interested. He was offering us an unheard of deal if we would make our decision before he had the mobile home moved to his lot.

We took a drive out to see it. I couldn't believe it when we walked in. I never knew they made mobile homes so big! This thing had more square footage than the two story home we had in the city. You could tell that it had been kept up immaculately. How in the world was this a foreclosure?

We decided to make the deal on the spot. After a tense moment or two and an amusing revelation, the mobile home finally arrived. We even gave up our Thanksgiving trip to the deer lease at the last minute in order to get settled in.

Christmas came and went, while we were waiting on one of our co-workers who wanted to move it to a lot in Houston. We were growing tired of looking at it as it sits directly in the back door of our double wide. (You could put a gangplank to connect the back deck of one to the front porch of the other.)

The second week of January we received the word that he would not be able to take the small trailer after all. We started contemplating listing it in the local paper and see what came of it.


Just then...as only God could have known...we found out that my cousin, Casy, had cancer. It was the 8.9 on the Richter scale that I had mentioned in this post. This could not be happening to our family...and especially not to him. Casy was about to celebrate his 21st birthday in February and preparing to marry his sweetheart in April. (I am one of the oldest grandchildren and he is one of the youngest.)


It became apparent within the week that Casy would be coming to MD Anderson in Houston for treatment. He arrived with his parents and fiancee January 29 and we quickly learned that he would be undergoing chemo for at least three months. The schedule would not allow him to travel back and forth. It worked out that he checked in on a Thursday, was released on the following Tuesday and had to be back on Thursday of both that week and the following week for day treatments. In between, he was exhausted. It took until just before the following week long cycle for him to feel strong enough to get around.

With the help of friends who either donated furniture or got me into auctions, we were able to furnish the trailer for their comfort. I knew it would be very difficult for them to be away from home for three months...and even more so if they felt they were somehow putting us out. (A huge thank you to my boys who donated their queen size beds and returned to their twin beds for this season.)

The night that we got the phone call telling us that Casy was being sent to MD Anderson for a more thorough evaluation, Jim and sat on the deck with tears of thanksgiving for the wonderful provision God had granted. Suddenly the whole journey, from feeling the burden to move to the new mobile home that was inhabited long before plans for a new home could even have been drawn up...it all made sense.

We looked back and saw the hand of God upon every decision...every opportunity...every circumstance. He had been faithful in ways we could not have foreseen. And not just to us, but to our family who would soon see His provision as well. He had allowed Jim and I to join Him in His work, and we were thankful.

He has proven time and time again that He knows what we have need of BEFORE we even ask (or know to ask).

Now to Him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to His power that is at work within us. Ephesians 3:20

That is my testimony to the faithfulness of God during this season of life.