Those are the same lessons we learned last year. We live in Pa. First, you have to understand our town & how it has been & what direction it is now going. We use to have businesses that have been here for YEARS!! Over the last few years, the businesses have been moving out of town or being shoved out of town. Our town is TRYING to become more of a tourist area instead. We don't have a whole lot to offer(in my opinion.) People are losing their jobs & don't always move with the job. They look for another. Sometimes they get into construction or landscaping.
We have been in construction for about 7-8 years now. Over the last 1 1/2- 2 yrs., we have seen our line of business SLOW way down, due to so many over night businesses. We've been under cut so much. So we widen our business to excavation. That was working at first, then it slowed. We put ads in the phone book...etc. We weren't getting ahead, just more in debt. We changed our focus on where to "work" in general. We found a job for a heavy equipment operator 8 hours away, in Shepherdsville, Kentucky (through friends of ours). The pay is good, health benefits are WONDERFUL! I don't pay for a thing! My husband gets 14 holidays off a year, 2 weeks vacation after the first year, 1 personal day a month....what a job!!
It was moving away from our families that I had a hard time with. Our folks are both getting older. I've seen my husband's folks take a few steps back this year. My kids are VERY attached to their grandparents. But we kept praying for the Lord's will to be done in our lives. We got a signed sales agreement on our house
on our own within 12 days.
But it took 4 months to nail the guy down for a closing. We went through 3 closing dates with him. He kept putting them off. We ended up calling off the deal.
Finally, we prayed that God will give us a Bible verse & peace whether we should go or stay. We found a great church in KY & have a Great job there. Here, we have a house & a church, but no work. We had alot of comments from friend/loved ones...wanting only the best for us & the Lord's will to be done (as long as it meant we stayed in Pa). We found I Cor 2:5 "That your faith should not stand in the wisdom of man, but in the POWER of God." What a verse. But the comfort we have received, was to stay & wait out the storm. (of no work). At the writing of this note, my husband is still working in Ky. He comes home everyother weekend, due to rising prices of gas & diesel. That is something we Can not keep doing. The kids need their dad here with them & at times, the gas isn't worth the trip!
I do have a better appreication for those, who, for example, are truck drivers & are gone alot. The wives that keep the home fires going. This is not a life for me. It is VERY hard for me too. I have a deep appreciation for my mom. She raised 5 of us kids on her own & one has down syndrome. Most importantly, I appreciate & LOVE my husband even more!!! Absences (does) makes the heart grow fonder!!
It has been a VERY long year of ups & downs. Now, just the long winter ride of slow - no work. My Outlook: the Lord is in control. He's seen us through this far & has continued to take care of us. That's where my "faith" lies...in Jesus Christ!
Sorry, this has been such a long note & maybe to much babbling. But that's my year's lesson on faith. We've been stretched & strenghtened a bit this year, but in the end...we have a deeper faith.
the Weed Patch
