Gifts.
Daniel didn't have a job, we didn't have a place to live, and we were both still reliant on our parents paying for pretty much every inch of our lives. We were ready to take that giant step out of the nest, but we were taking that step in a very blind sort of way. Life was so uncertain.
We found ourselves entirely reliant on God for every one of our needs. That seems scary, but really its amazing! I just wanted to document the beautiful journey of gifts that we have experienced in the eight months since our engagement.
Gift #1. Our wedding. We were so worried about where the funds would come from for our big day. Weddings are not cheap. The average wedding in the US costs about $25,000. Personally, I find that ridiculous and It was scary when we barely had $100 in our bank accounts. But God was so good. He provided us with a wonderful church family who made our day nothing short of a dream come true!
I couldn't have imagined a better day. My best advice to give brides-to-be is, if you know someone who can do something, ask them! The worst they can say is "no"! We were so blessed, and it was almost more special because of everyone's involvement in our big day!
Gift #2. Our honeymoon. Daniel and I were fine with going away for a couple days to Indy or Chicago or something. We really were. But this gift just blew us out of the water. Our sweet grandma (Daniel's grandma) told us we had to go to Jamaica. After Daniel found us a great deal on Groupon, she offered to help us out with the costs. We were beyond ecstatic. And our trip was amazing!
Daniel has never been out of the country before, so to experience that with him, was beyond wonderful! What a great trip to take with my best friend. There were so many firsts that we got to share while we were there; like climbing up a waterfall! and getting a massage at the spa! :) So much fun.
Gift #3. The food pantry. Now laugh all you want, but that is one of the greatest gifts that God has given us. Our church has a food pantry for lower income families, and Daniel and I are definitely lower income! It is amazing how God provides for us through that amazing resource.
We love to entertain and have people over. It is our favorite thing in the world, but making food for a lot of people on a regular basis gets expensive. Thanks to the food pantry, I can get a couple of things for us to share with our company. There have been a couple meals that we have had where everything we are eating is because of the pantry.
Thanks to saving money in our grocery bills, we can afford to spend a little more on date nights together, which our hugely important as we learn each other and grow together as a couple. There have even been a couple of times where I have prayed that God would provide us with certain types of food. "meals for Daniel's lunch" "frozen pizza" and He has honored those requests.
Gift #4. Daniel's job. This one brings tears to my eyes. When Daniel first graduated, he got a job as a bank teller. It wasn't what he "saw himself doing" but he knew that it would pay the bills and so he took the job. Right before his second evaluation he was let go. It was devastating for him. He is a hardworker and a quick learner and he applies himself wholeheartedly to any project he takes on, so I knew that it was not a problem with Daniel. Keep in mind that this was about a month before our wedding.
A couple of people had told him about a temporary job as a Mortgage Consultant for Citibank. It was only a six month stint and so he was curious if this was the right fit for him, but once again trusting God, he took the job. We were both astounded in God's blessings through that job. He was given higher pay, more vacation days for our honeymoon, and an overall enjoyment of the job that didnt even compare with his previous job. He felt like he was good at it and that he was truly helping people, something that is a true desire of his heart.
He quickly befriended his manager, who told him that there was likely to be some permanent job opportunities coming available. We were both hoping and praying that he would get one of these jobs. He was interviewed a couple of weeks ago and he felt like it was promising, but the manager told him that the new employees would likely to be starting in January. As January marched on we started getting a little bit nervous.
After dropping his off at work yesterday, I felt an overwhelming sense of worry. Frightened about losing our house and our way of life if he didnt get this job. I prayed out loud "God! Please! Show yourself to me! Please allow Daniel to get the job! Please allow him to get it today!" I will be the first to say that its not always good to put God on a timeline. For "His ways are not our ways" but those are the words that popped out of my mouth. It calmed me down and I didnt think about it for the rest of the day.
When I went to pick Daniel up, the first thing he did when he got in the car was to hand me a little Post-it note. It had clue on it that made me have to figure out the good news. It also said, "Romans 8:28" which says, "And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose." What a great verse! Daniel got the job! It has better hours and he gets weekends of now! I just had to cry because God had answered my prayer in a bigger way than I had even imagined!
Needless to say, God is so good to us, and we are truly thankful for the gifts that we have received.
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