When Dreams and Reality Collide

So here we are, almost three months into the next chapter of our lives. And it's not quite how we had pictured it.

We moved in faith, trusting God to open doors with Michelle's business, but it just hasn't picked up the way we had hoped and expected that it would. She's having success. Just not as much as we had hoped. At least not yet. And not being able to see around the corner leaves us struggling to hold on to the faith that brought us here in the first place.

I was given the hope of advancement in my job before we ever moved here. But now the situation has changed, and it doesn't look like I will be moving up in any way for quite some time. A friend of mine was let go, and while I hated the whole situation, I knew that it would leave more hours available in my department. And while it did at first, last week I was back to the minimum number of hours I was promised from the outset.

We have heard mostly silence regarding our house back in South Carolina. And no news, in this situation, is not good news. There was an email, nearly a month ago, informing us that our house might be shown, but we never heard anything after that, which means it must not have. So we keep putting about three fourths of our current income into a house payment for a house we haven't seen in almost three months. It feels pretty fruitless right now, just like the rest of the story.

Sharing space is proving to be a continual struggle. The line between parent and grandparent is regularly blurred, despite our efforts to prevent that sort of thing. Having no extra money, we can't afford to go out and do much with just the three of us, and with gas prices as they are, it's not the best stewardship to drive all across the metro even for things that are free to the public.

We have half the income we had six months ago, but we have enough to pay our bills. How many people owe more than they make, especially in this economic slump? We can't buy each other nice "just because" gifts, but we can enjoy the gift of a family together. How many people are part of broken families or families that have no hope for salvation--in this life or the next? I don't have room to advance in my job, but how many people would give anything just to have a job? Michelle's business isn't growing at the rate we had hoped, but how many people would dream of staying at home with their child(ren) like she does? On top of all this, there are other battles which aren't ours to fight, but which directly affect us--both in my extended family and in Michelle's. Life is hard right now, but we are blessed. And I hope we never take those blessings for granted or lose sight of them in this season of discouragement.

I've been reading through Isaiah lately, and I came across a passage that has not left me since. Isaiah 22:8-11 tells of a time when Judah (the southern kingdom of Israel), during military opposition from multiple directions, did their best to muster up an army and to draw up brilliant strategies for war. But God said to them, through the prophet, Isaiah, "you did not look to him...or see him who planned it long ago." And in our context here, feeling war on every side, it's easy to make plans. It's easy to look for ways to take charge and make our dreams come true. But what God wants--infinitely more than He wants our plans and our effort--is for us to simply look to Him, because He is the one who planned this day long ago.

So, friends, we ask for your prayers during this season of our lives. Pray that we would stop looking for brilliant strategies and start looking to God. More than ever since the day of our salvation, we are forced to realize that we cannot do anything apart from Jesus Christ, who is our strength (John 15:5; Philippians 4:13). And, honestly, I believe that's a really great place to be. Because it keeps us from taking the glory for the things that only God can do.