God is Able

It was the beginning of our first full week in our new place.

I’m seated at a bar stool set we found at a discount furniture store the day we got approved – you could say we were a tad bit excited. I can feel the breeze coming through the sliding glass doors leading to our balcony, and I might be the only one in our complex to appreciate the misty morning fog coming from the ocean.

We’ve been dreaming about this lofty spot in the city for years, our prayers more fervent in recent months.

Three years ago, my brand new husband and I drove down to San Diego after saying “I do” and partying with all our friends and family. We stayed at Paradise Point Resort and imagined the possibility of making a paradise of our own in this beautiful city.

“Imagine” might be an understatement; the truth is, after returning from that trip, we couldn’t get the thought out of our minds. It wasn’t as far-fetched as you might think. We lived in Oklahoma, but my entire family was in southern California – that was my home.

We’d have an unconditionally loving community to support us in this new venture of marriage. We were young, and SoCal vibes called out to our ambitious, millennial hearts.

Our first year was challenging, as we heard it would be, but we looked forward to our next vacation (to California, of course). We celebrated our anniversary in Laguna, by the beach, but my new tan couldn’t be credited for the glow on my face.

I was pregnant!

I couldn’t do another year away from my family, especially with a baby coming. So, we drove down the coast to San Diego and toured a news station affiliated with the one I worked for in Oklahoma. I applied for an open position and knew the job was mine. It didn’t matter that I wasn’t qualified, God would give me the desire of my heart, right?

Wrong. I didn’t get the job, and after months of trying for other positions, my husband was also turned down.

To my dismay, our daughter was born an Okie. I quit my job to stay at home, bills began racking up, and the grace period to avoid paying my student loans was ending. And, just as my parents downsized into a 2-bedroom home, they graciously allowed us to join them.

We had moved to California.

My husband was able to transfer his position to the San Diego branch while I assisted my mom in real estate. His commute was brutal, but God’s grace was sufficient. For a year, we dreamed of the day we would have enough saved to get our own place. Dreaming was all we could do, as the cost of living exceeded anything we’d seen in the midwest.

We declared and prayed and rejoiced over what God was doing in us. We trusted Him, and He proved Himself.

I’m now able to stay home with my beautiful girl and pursue the things I’m passionate about while my husband works for an incredible company. We’ve encountered countless blessings since yielding to God’s plan.

In the last few years, I’ve learned that I serve a loving Father who truly does give us the desires of our hearts. His timing is perfect, and though we may not understand the process, we must trust it. He knows everything we need and when we’ll need it.

So, What’s the Play Call?

Be encouraged in your journey – it may very well be the method God is using to lead you to abundance.

“Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance. Let perseverance finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything.” (James 1: 2-4, NLT)