May 13, 2008

Some days come and go. While other days come and leave their dates etched in your mind. You are forever changed because that day happened. May 13, 2008 was one of those days. It started as a normal morning. I had worked my normal weekend nights at the hospital. We celebrated Mother's Day on Sunday. Brandon & the kids surprised me with a Big gift that year. An ipod. I was so surprised! I remember getting on to him for spending so much (we usually don't do big ticket gift items for md or fd). However, I was super excited about the gift. Monday found me catching up on my rest. 36 hours of work over 3 nights was always rough. Tuesday May 13, 2008 was just another day. Brandon had headed off to work. I took Sammy to school & returned home with Kailey & Trenton. I began to work on laundry and other household chores. The phone rang about mid-morning. It was B on the other end. He began the conversation by asking "Are you sitting down?" I chuckled as I found a place to sit down. The words that came next are probably some of the most shocking words that my husband has ever said to me. He said, "I was called in to the office this morning. The company can no longer afford to pay me. I don't have a job here anymore." I sat stunned for a moment. I turned and looked at our 1 and 3 year olds playing. I then asked, "Do you need a ride home?" B had driven his less than year old Toyota Camry (Company Car) to work that morning. He said, "No, I can drive the car home and return it by the end of the week." He said, "I will see you in a little while." Then he quoted Romans 8:28 to me. "And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to His purpose." With that, we hung up the phone. B never sounded down or discouraged. He was completely confident in God's plan. Even though we didn't know what that plan was yet. All we knew for sure was that it didn't include him working at a company in downtown Tulsa any longer. I sat in the chair, tears flowing down my cheeks. I wish I could have been as confident in God's plan as he was. I think the shock was followed very quickly by anger. B had been called in to the office a week earlier and was given a promotion and a raise. B was a vice-president in the company. He had devoted 12 years of his life to the company. How could someone give you a promotion (& raise) one week and not be able to afford you the next? It was hard for my simple mind to understand. As I sat there in that chair, I knew that God had called Brandon into ministry in July 2007 during a revival. As I prayed for God to help me to forgive the owner of the company. As I prayed begging God to provide for the needs of our young family. I realized that God was just putting the pieces into place for Brandon to take the next step in ministry. For those of you who don't know, I am a Texas girl. I was born & raised In Texas. Brandon & I met & married there. We moved to Tulsa, Oklahoma in the Fall of 1996 to get away from all of the Dallas traffic. We decided a smaller community would be a better place to start a family. In January of 2004 we moved into the home we had planned to raise our children and some day retire in. As I think back to that day sitting in that chair. I would have never dreamed that 4 years later I would be sitting in a chair writing a blog in Kansas. I had never even been to Kansas. I had never even heard of Protection. I think it was Woody Allen who said "You want to make God laugh, tell him YOUR plans." While I am not a fan of Woody, I do chuckle at this statement. Brandon and I had BIG plans. He had a great job that provided a very nice income for our family. We had moved into our dream home. We had 3 great kids and what we thought was a good life. But those were all OUR plans. On May 13, 2008 God set in motion HIS plan and I have NEVER been the same. I am so thankful for a Godly husband with so much faith that he never even questioned God. What a great example he is to me and to our children.


"And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to His purpose." Romans 8:28


What has God called you to do?