Wednesday, July 7, 2010

God Is On My Speed Dial

What an awesome weekend! I love being able to spend time with close family and friends during holiday weekends. It seems as though during the summer months, with everyone's busy schedules, holidays are the only weekends we are able to all get together. With Scott's brothers and himself being the "pyros" they are, any 4th of July celebration with us is sure to be phenomenal! This season proved nothing different. With Lonny's on Saturday and the Murray's on Sunday there was tons of fun to be had by all.
I thought today I would update everyone on the status of a possible move to Seattle, as well as a couple of other things that I have been praying for over the last few weeks.
Let me start with an update on the Lewis'. Lee and Natalie Lewis and their three girls came into our lives 3 years ago. Since then I could never imagine my life without them. Lee is like the brother that I never had, giving me a taste of my own with his fiery attitude to compete with mine. I know...can you imagine? I never in a million years would have thought I would meet my match in "hard headedness"...I have :). Trinity, Chloe, and Jasmine are nothing short of beautiful. Those three little girls could put a smile on anyones face. They give their mommy and daddy one heck of a run for their money, but Lee and Nattie wouldn't want them any other way. God truly blessed this couple with three sweet little ones. They call me Auntie Muffy and it melts me every time they utter my name. Lastly but definitely not least, my Nattie Joe. This woman has made such a lasting impression on my heart, through friendship, loyalty, faith, and family I can't believe someone like me has been so blessed to be touched by her love. This past year has had plenty of ups and downs for this family. They moved from Derby to Valley Center, had a run in with medical issues, and dealt with other trials and tribulations that every young couple goes through in life. Natalie decided a couple of months ago that she wanted to return to school this fall to obtain a degree in Physical Therapy. She was so excited to hear of all of the paperwork for her GI bill, and student loans being accepted. She was ready for the twins (Trinity and Chloe) to start school in the fall and had already enrolled Jasmine in daycare. Just when it seemed that things were starting to look up, they were hit with some rather disturbing news. Lee received military orders to report to Afghanistan. I immediately felt an overwhelming pull at my heart strings. Natalie and Lee were both left wondering how they were going to get through this. How was Natalie going to raise three girls on her own, go to school full time, and be the man and woman of her household? As much as I tried to reassure her that I knew she could do this, that I would be here to help her no matter what she needed. The reality set in that I could be leaving her as well. Being a military family, means they haven't stayed in one place for any length of time. It also means that they both come from two very different areas of the United States. Natalie from Oklahoma and Lee from New York. They have no family here. I prayed nightly that God would show Nat the strength that she needed to get through the next year. She and I talk everyday. With every passing day, Lee's date was inching closer and closer. The thought of him leaving her was beginning to weigh heavily on her mind. I knew that this was going to be a long haul for her, I knew that with prayer, love and faith, she could accomplish what is was that God had planned for her. She and I discovered lastnight that we could Skype each other, and it would be just like sitting in our living rooms talking like neighbors again. (I know we are geeks, but it was SAHWEEET!) After an hour or so we hung up. I saw a different Nat lastnight than I saw on Saturday at Lonny's. She was so tired. I couldn't help but think, this is only going to get worse, she is going to need me. I prayed hard lastnight. I prayed that God would somehow show Nattie the light, I prayed that He would hold her tightly in his arms the next few months guiding her through these trying times. Today I received this text message from Lee...
"just wanted to let you all know, the Boss cancelled my deployment to Afghanistan. The manning here is tight, so he could not send me. Thank God" Boy was he right, THANK GOD! What an awesome prayer answered! Trust me when I say, when I talked with Nattie this afternoon, I could tell a weight had been lifted from her. She could breathe and was thanking God every step of the way.
Next, a very good friend of mine is going through a very rough patch. She is recently divorced, raising two boys on her own, and in desperate need of a job. She has spent the last year in school getting her degree in Medical Coding. During which time holding down a full time job, taking excellent care of her boys, and maintaining a 4.0GPA. She has the drive and the dedication that most of us don't see in very many people. She has been applying for jobs daily since graduation to no avail. I spoke with her today and I could hear the desperation in her voice. I had no words of wisdom, nor any sound advice. I could only listen and try to be the best friend that I could possibly be. What I am asking is this. If you know of anyone that is looking for a Medical Billing Specialist or really anything to get her foot in the door somewhere please let me know. I would greatly appreciate it and I can't even begin to tell you how much stress it would lift off of this single moms kindred spirit. Until now please help me to pray for a positive outcome for her.
Lastly, Seattle. Still...nothing. We have heard several things through the grapevine but nothing definite. So we are still waiting. I can tell you, it's driving all of us crazy. Although he will never admit it, my Scooter feels like a sitting duck. He knows that this is the type of opportunity he has waited on his whole life. As a man, I think they stress about things like this more than a woman ever thought about. I just wish that I could take some of the heat off of his shoulders for him. I told him lastnight that I was worried how he would react if he was not given this position. I told him that I know he wants it badly and I don't want some thing like this to break his confidence in himself. He informed me of this, "It's all up to the Man upstairs, I have done all I can do it's out of my control now." Just to hear him say this made me feel so much better. Hopefully he will know something soon and the waiting game will be over. Until then, thank you for all of your continued support and prayers. We are hoping a decision is knocking on our back door. Until then God is on my speed dial, He is all we need. He is the strength that we all need to get through the road blocks on our path of life.

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