It was 4 pm on Friday afternoon, and I heard the garage door go up and my husband, in his loud car, drive in. The door opened, and I looked up from my position on the floor with my 10-week old son. My husband looked like he had just been hit by a bus.
"What happened?" I asked. "Are you okay? Did you get fired?"
He could only simply nod.
Now, this may be a strange conversation to have, but we had joked around in the past that Tyler would get fired because of his strong opinions. But the relationship he had with his boss was very transparent. He felt comfortable sharing his opinions and thoughts with his boss because that's the type of relationship they had built.
But 8-weeks prior to this conversation, my husband got a new boss. He was still on paternity leave, and he wasn't sure what to expect when he headed back into his office to meet his new boss.
The department was headed in a different direction, and they didn't feel that he could be of use to them.
Okay, so that was that. And that is why my husband came home at 4 pm on that Friday afternoon. Once I figured out what had happened, I calmly said, "Okay, it will be alright. We will be fine. God is not surprised by this."
I have no idea why I was so calm and not freaked out that I had a 10-WEEK OLD BABY and my husband didn't have a job. But I was at peace. Things would be okay. The Lord was in that conversation that day. He was not surprised by any of this.
It's not about what you know. It's about who you know.
That sentence is so true, and it came to be helpful as Tyler started trying to sort through the rubble and find a clear direction. He texted an old buddy of his, and he contacted the recruiter for the company that he worked for. What do you know? He had an interview the next week and a job offer all within a week and a half of him losing his job.
The Lord was in that conversation that day. He was not surprised by any of this.
Flash forward a couple of months. COVID-19 became a real thing and his company started telling people to work from home. We are so grateful that he was able to do so. But we also started re-evaluating our priorities. We once thought we would be living in Oklahoma for the rest of our lives. We thought that Tyler would be with his previous employer for a long time. We thought a lot of things, and suddenly, we realized they didn't have to be.
So Tyler asked me why we were still in Oklahoma. I was caught completely off guard by this question. He's known that it was my deepest desire to move back home to be closer to family. As we talked about it, we made plans to move back to Missouri sometime within the year. We had a goal to be moved by Christmas. He started sending me links to homes that were for sale. They had the address of Joplin or Carthage. What?! We had always talked about moving back to Springfield. I had always assumed that we would move to Springfield. Our parents assumed that we would move to Springfield.
But God was already in this situation. He wasn't surprised by any of this. And He had a plan greater than our own.
We learned how quickly the houses were moving as we watched my brother and sister-in-law try to find a home to purchase. So while we were still looking to look, we knew that we would have to act quickly if we wanted to put an offer in on something we loved. We had an amazing realtor who wasn't just our realtor, but our "coach" as well. We talked a lot of strategy because we also had a home to sell in Oklahoma City. Homes were moving so quickly, we weren't sure sellers would accept a contingent offer. So we had to be approved for a second mortgage. Now...if there's anything to throw up over, it's the amount of money that you can be approved to borrow. It makes me sick to my stomach. But we were approved, and we quickly made an offer on a home in a very desirable neighborhood OVER FACETIME.
God wasn't surprised by any of this. But we sure were!
The waiting game to buy a home is the longest process ever. The packing process of your current home with a 1-year old will age you about 10 years. But thankfully, my in-laws came to help and my dad flew down for a day to help load the truck. We are so thankful for the help! I'll spare you the crazy details that ensued the day before we were to leave with our loaded truck. We were supposed to close on a Friday and it didn't happen. So we were homeless for the third time of our marriage.
Once again...not a surprise to God!
The night we pulled into Joplin, I cried happy tears. My dream was coming to fruition. We were immediately met with my uncle, three of my cousins, my brother (who lives 3 streets down, by the way), and my parents. They helped us unload our truck, and I just thanked the Lord for this very situation.
As we have now been here one month, I still haven't been able to process it all. We finally have an accepted offer on our Oklahoma home, and we will be able to close that chapter soon. But to be here...somewhere that I didn't see living--ever--is the greatest gift.
Family is so important, and something that I haven't had in the first year of Henry's life is help when I need it. So as I navigate what that looks like--because if I can be honest, it's hard for me to ask for help--I will be trying to soak it all in.
We didn't see this life change coming. We really thought we would live in Oklahoma for the rest of our lives. But God knew what would happen next. He knew that one huge life-altering event would domino effect the rest of these decisions. I'm so grateful to be close to my family and my friends. I'm grateful that cousins will get to know each other. I'm grateful for the opportunity to be here with a renewed heart and mind after being gone for 9 years. I'm thankful for the lessons I've learned along the way. And this isn't something that I ever want to take for granted. But most importantly, I'm thankful for a God who is sovereign and unchanging. He is faithful and good...no matter the circumstances.
