Apple Slices of Our Life: The End

This quote was on my July calendar...I did not actually turn to July from June until about ten days into the month! But how perfectly timed was the encouragement that was there for Wally and I.

"Painful as it may seem, the place of our suffering is the place where we find the freedom to live the life God designed for us."—Dannah Gresh.

So how does one begin to write about “getting fired?!” It’s not something you are usually proud of and it certainly is unexpected. Wally and I have many mixed emotions. Did we do something wrong? Maybe. Something deserving of being “let go?” We certainly did not think so. Just what did we do? I’m not even sure if I know or understand. But here is what I do know…While this whole experience was a complete surprise to us, it certainly was not to God. And we trust that what God allows in our life is for our good, and definitely is part of God’s purposes and for His glory.

Wally and I were operating out of a state of disbelief, but determined to trust the Lord. I had been praying for the Lord to draw us closer together and closer to His Word. In July I participated in a Bible study in the book of Proverbs. I could not believe how many times I would say to Wally, “Let me read you this verse, doesn’t it sound like what we are going through?” It was good to be grounded and surrounded by His Word and prayer! It was also the perfect foundation that was being laid for what we were about to walk through. I truly had perfect peace, the kind that “surpasses al understanding!”

Here’s what God did for us:

On Tuesday after we returned from our little vacation, we were signing a lease on a house to rent. If you know anything about the housing market in Denver, you understand what a miracle that alone is!
Wally was offered his old job back as a roofing estimator. In fact they wanted him to start right away.
Most of the residents were just as shocked as we were that we were being let go. They were so kind to us! They began dropping by our apartment with cards and gifts and even tears!
One woman especially blessed us. She had been a tough cookie from the start. She would roll by the clubhouse and toot her car horn, waiting for Wally to respond. She always wanted some work done but never wanted to fill out the form required. Over time, she warmed up to us. She told us she couldn’t write very well anymore and that is why she never wanted to fill out the forms. We weren’t sure, but we think she was about 90…still driving, still playing Bridge each week, she was a character! As we were packing to leave, she knocked on our door. She climbed up the steps, around all the packing mess and plopped on our couch . She visited with us for several minutes and then gave us a hand written card, thanking us for all we had done!
We were able to leave knowing we had done a very good job, that there were many things we could not overcome, but we did a good job!

The frosting on the cake for me came from when I read Proverbs 28:11. “The rich man is wise in his own eyes, But the poor who has understanding searches him out.” I pictured Wally and I as “the poor” in the verse. Poor when our lives are compared with those of our residents…with the their standard of wealth, success, status and privilege. But we were rich in God’s understanding, the gospel. And we had tried to live and give the gospel in the four and half years we lived and worked among these very rich and privileged “poor” people. I felt God gave this verse to me to bring the perfect close to this chapter in our life.