I wrote this post a week and a half ago.....I couldn't post until it happened, but it has happened, so read to the end and then I've added a post script...
Tomorrow our life is going to change AGAIN. But it's all good, in fact, it is SO great. For weeks now, possibly months, we've been sensing life at the college isn't ideal. A restlessness developed for both of us. Restlessness in us generally means we are about to be moved. This has happened time and time again when we're just about to move, either from a house we love or a church where we're comfortable. This has been going on at the college for awhile now. But what kept us from leaving was the nice and steady pay cheque. Who would give that up? Only someone who is super dumb OR someone who is getting a sense that if they stay it's borderline dangerous. As the college's dangerous protocols develop, as they're metrics get changed, RM was starting to get more and more uncomfortable. He knew he was working for Pharoah before, but it was becoming more and more obvious how enslaved he would be if he stayed.
For weeks now, he has been fasting 2 whole days a week. I was fasting one. As we fasted, we cried out, just like the Israelites did, begging God to show us what to do. Were we supposed to leave? There was no way. Yet we prayed and cried out more just as the Israelites did, "During those days the king of Egypt died, and the people of Israel groaned because of their slavery and cried out for help. Their cry for rescue from slavery came up to God. And God heard their groaning and God remembered the covenant with Abraham, with Isaac, and with Jacob. God saw the people of Israel - and God knew." What a FANTASTIC passage - it fully describes how we'd been feeling. YET, leaving the college was never in the plan. We knew that would be foolish. Yet every single week, at every meeting he attended, it got worse and worse what he was expected to do. In addition to this, just like the Israelites, they took away his "straw" and asked him to make more "bricks" and faster when they took away his teaching income. They saw it as hindering his other job and even though he was handling both jobs just fine, they didn't care. This was the beginning of the tipping point. Then they had another meeting, (in fact, all they do is have meetings which means he can never do his job as he's always in a meeting) and in that meeting what they discussed confirmed for him he was done. I could literally replace the names in the following passage with names of RM's colleagues and it would read the exact same way: "That same day Pharaoh gave this order to the slave drivers and overseers in charge of the people: 7 “You are no longer to supply the people with straw for making bricks; let them go and gather their own straw. 8 But require them to make the same number of bricks as before; don’t reduce the quota. They are lazy; that is why they are crying out, ‘Let us go and sacrifice to our God.’ 9 Make the work harder for the people so that they keep working and pay no attention to lies.” 10 Then the slave drivers and the overseers went out and said to the people, “This is what Pharaoh says: ‘I will not give you any more straw. 11 Go and get your own straw wherever you can find it, but your work will not be reduced at all.’” 12 So the people scattered all over Egypt to gather stubble to use for straw. 13 The slave drivers kept pressing them, saying, “Complete the work required of you for each day, just as when you had straw.” 14 And Pharaoh’s slave drivers beat the Israelite overseers they had appointed, demanding, “Why haven’t you met your quota of bricks yesterday or today, as before?” Just reading that passage again confirms why we have to leave.
We read an amazing verse that week, 2 Samuel 5:24 which said, "As soon as you hear the sound of marching in the tops of the poplar trees, move quickly, because that will mean the Lord has gone out in front of you to strike the Philistine army.” David had been inquiring of the Lord what He should do. The first time earlier on in the chapter, God said, "Go. You'll win." The second time, He said, "Do not go straight up, but circle around behind them..." Then he added the part about how they would know when to go.....when you "hear the sound of marching in the tops of the poplar trees". That day after we had read the verse together in the morning, as we both fasted all day, I kept thinking to myself, "what is the sound of marching for us? How will we know when to leave?" But as I walked the property that day, it occurred to me - it's our land crying out! Our land is telling us, in a way, the sound of marching in the trees, you can make enough money off the land to leave. But in other jobs we had had another contract in the wings to give us the confidence to leave, this time we didn't.....or did we? Yes, we did! We had a whole winery full of wine just waiting to be sold but no time to sell it! If we were working exclusively on the winery sales, we could make it. Then it also occurred to us we had so many other income sources from our last year, that we could also pursue, but we just needed the time, if we quit, then we could pursue those other sources and it would be great! PLUS, add in what I talked about at the conference I spoke at - the purpose of marriage is to raise "godly offspring", Malachi 2:15 - if RM came home he could focus on the younger four as he hadn't been able to as he wanted to being so busy with the farm, with work, with everything on his plate. Oh man, it was soooo obvious all of a sudden - we wanted to run and quit right away. If he were home, we would be able to have him around, which we'd been praying for for so long, never thinking it could happen. He'd be happier as he could pursue his many interests that were all income producing. It was so great. We talked and talked and talked so excited about the future.
But, his decision will not be popular with his colleagues and we understand that it will not make sense to them, but then we think about our family and we realize we fear God more than we fear man. This will give my husband such a wonderful last month with his daughter before she leaves for good. It will give him a wonderful summer with his growing sons and daughters still at home under his discipleship. It will give him joy and peace and less stress even though it will be a lot of work. He'll be leaving Egypt behind and that makes all the new stress good stress if that makes sense. He knows there is a faith aspect - but it's like when the Israelites stood at the Red Sea, Moses told them, " Moses answered the people, “Do not be afraid. Stand firm and you will see the deliverance the Lord will bring you today. The Egyptians you see today you will never see again. 14 The Lord will fight for you; you need only to be still.” 15 Then the Lord said to Moses, “Why are you crying out to me? Tell the Israelites to move on. 16 Raise your staff and stretch out your hand over the sea to divide the water so that the Israelites can go through the sea on dry ground." That's it - they only needed to stand still, so do we. We need not be afraid, but instead bravely step into the water and it will split. God will fight for us.
I'm actually quite convinced we are doing this so our kids will know what to do one day when they are in a similar situation where they don't know what to do. There's another passage in Joshua where the Israelites again have to pass through water, the Jordan River, and they haven't gone this way before. Joshua said to the people, "Consecrate yourselves, for tomorrow the Lord will do amazing things among you.” And the Lord said to Joshua, “Today I will begin to exalt you in the eyes of all Israel, so they may know that I am with you as I was with Moses. Joshua said to the Israelites, “Come here and listen to the words of the Lord your God. 10 This is how you will know that the living God is among you and that he will certainly drive out before you the Canaanites, Hittites, Hivites, Perizzites, Girgashites, Amorites and Jebusites." I am quite convinced RM will be "exalted" like Joshua was, just to show the kids God is with him, just like He will be with the kids. God is going to do amazing things among us because He is THE LIVING GOD! What a great description!
We don't know what's going to happen, but we say just like Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego, "God will save us, but even if He doesn't, we still won't bow down." We're done. We're done serving Pharoah. We know that God 100% gave us this job at the time that we needed it, but we also see that our time is up. It is so clear and obvious. However, if we are completely nuts and we don't make a cent and we find ourselves in serious trouble, I did see a sign that Mcdonald's was hiring full-time, so I know he'll be able to get work if our move is a disaster, but evenso, we won't go back to Egypt, we'll get a job somewhere else.
Now, even though he hasn't quit yet, we are acting like he has. We went for a quick trip to the lake on a whim last night with the younger 4. RM doesn't do that - he never has time, always too much going on. I was so happy to have him with us. I didn't realize I'd become a single mom over the last few years. How great to work and play alongside one another again. We, in one sense, are now semi-retiring, not because we aren't working, oh we'll be working, but it'll be doing the kind of work you LOVE and where it doesn't feel like work, yet you make an income. So exciting. Now I sit back and wait to see how this all unfolds.
P.S. - Well, it happened! He quit a few days after the original planned day, last Friday morning. It was the best day ever! We weren't sure how his boss would receive the news, but they talked yesterday and all is well. He gets two weeks holidays right before the wedding starting on Friday and it is going to feel like freedom! In fact, he is already feeling the freedom. The weight has been lifted and he's already spending more time with each child, enjoying each of them more, just loving the blessing of being with them and truly being awake and in tune with them in a way he couldn't before. It's just such a miracle I can hardly believe it. Each morning I start my day off praying for my husband. I've prayed for this kind of miracle, but never thought it would be possible. I'm so grateful.
Meanwhile, more miracles have taken place - my brother and sister-in-law, along with my parents, are moving closer to us, only 15 minutes away! This means they both have to sell their places fast which means we are over there as much as possible helping them out as they have so much to do to get their place selling ready. It's a blessing to be able to do that and help them so they aren't doing it all themselves. It's coming together quickly, so hopefully it'll be listed in less than 2 weeks, Lord willing. My other sister is also moving and selling in the US as they also took on a new job! So our family has 3 families moving and selling and 4 husbands with new jobs/careers, a new baby coming in October (my sister in law!), a wedding in two weeks.....I'd say that a LOT is going on in our family right now. But my favourite verse right now is "The thief comes to kill, steal and destroy, but I came that they might have life and have it to the full." I would say that is what we're experiencing, a full and abundant life, to the full. I refuse to let the thief try to steal, kill and destroy my joy which can happen when I think about what is left to do to prepare for the wedding and for the house being listed....
To top it off, our pastor couldn't have known we were quitting our job the week before his sermon, but as providence would have it, our pastor spoke on provision on Sunday and how we can trust God with everything we need. We have no provision right now, except by faith. Yet since we quit, we've sold several cases of wine and we've had multiple hay sales, so it's been wonderful to see how God just keeps showing up and letting us know He will take care of us.
No comments:
Post a Comment