A Story of God's Provision (Part 5)

In case you need to catch up you can find Part 1 here, Part 2 here, Part 3 here, and Part 4 here.

It had been about three and a half years since Collin got let go from his job with the defense contractor, and just over three years that he had been working in automotive. We were both so tired of having "just enough" money to get by, so tired of Collin coming home from work tired and dirty, so tired of not having normal weekends. We had been praying like crazy and feeling like God wasn't listening. We knew He was, He'd proven to us time and time again that He was, but it was really frustrating that Collin still didn't have a better job.

I mentioned that Collin had talked with both Air Force and Navy recruiters. His parents suggested while we were living with them that maybe he should consider the military. I was NOT pleased with this prospect. I struggled with it so much. It caused lots of arguments and many tears for me. I just didn't feel a peace about the decision, but I supported my husband. If it's what he wanted then I would "join" the military with him. He got pretty much nowhere with the Air Force recruiter though. It felt like she kept stringing him along. And it's not like he isn't completely qualified. The man got a 93 on his ASVAB; super impressive!! He more than qualifies for the physical qualifications (run, situps, pull ups). We just couldn't understand why the recruiter wasn't being more proactive about him enlisting. So Collin began to consider the Navy. He met with a Navy recruiter and he seemed really interested in Collin. But then he never returned Collin's calls, was never in the office when Collin would go by, failed to set up appointments, he failed to keep Collin in the loop. I know this isn't the case with every recruiter but it was VERY frustrating for us. Collin hadn't given up on the military yet, but he was just about done trying to force them to accept him, especially when it wasn't really something he was completely passionate about. He felt he needed to join the military as a way to support the two of us.

The end of January 2013 came and I got a text message from my dad's best friend, Randy, who happens to be a Project Manager for a defense contractor in the area. He (along with everyone else we know) knew that Collin was still looking for a job, so he sent me a link to a web posting for a job he wanted Collin to apply for. Collin applied immediately and was called in for an interview the next week. His interview went extremely well! Afterwards Randy couldn't wait to gush to my parents about how well Collin did in his interview! A few weeks went by and we hadn't heard anything yet, though we were very hopeful that this could be the big break we'd been waiting for! The third week of February Collin got an e-mail telling him that he HAD been selected for the job but they were waiting to send out official offer letters until the program finalized its budget. WHOA! We were super excited, but still trying not to get our hopes up because in the contracting world, budgets fall through all the time. Five days later Collin got a phone call telling him that everything worked out and that he could come pick up his offer letter and they wanted him to start on March 11!!

Collin started this new job almost three weeks ago. And so far, it is great! We are finally working the same hours, he's actually making more than me now, which creates some financial security for us, and the company will pay for Collin to take college classes! This is the job that we've been waiting for since August 2009.

Looking back, all those "unanswered" prayers about Collin getting a new job, all the frustration, the military seeming to not work out, having to live with Collin's parents, living in a tiny one bedroom apartment, it all seems perfect now. Everything we experienced, everything we went through has prepared us for this new job. God's timing is absolutely perfect! Sure, things would have been a lot easier and less stressful on us if neither of us lost our jobs shortly before moving, but we wouldn't be the people we are now. That job that Collin lost was at a locally owned company that shortly after merged with a much, much larger national company; and many of the people got laid off then or quit because they were treated so poorly. What if that had happened after we were married? Or that job that I lost that I was miserable at. I wouldn't have been able to be so relaxed during the month before our wedding if I had that job, and I certainly wouldn't be in my current job at a company I love surrounded by coworkers who are so fun.

The military not working out was exactly what was supposed to happen. I would have been miserable as a military spouse. It would have brought so much stress to our relationship. I can barely go a weekend without having Collin around so how would I survive six weeks of boot camp and then however many months for A-School? And what would I have done if he got deployed? I knew that the military was not the direction God was sending us, but we didn't know what else it could have been.

Living with Collin's parents, though stressful and hard, was so awesome. It allowed me to get to know them in an intimate way that I probably wouldn't have otherwise. Since moving out I have a much, much deeper appreciation and love for my in-laws. Living with them helped me to feel like an actual part of the family instead of just an extension of Collin. Plus, there were all the financial benefits that we had living with them.

I think the biggest thing about all this, if we both started out with decent salaries or if we didn't have to worry about our finances much, I don't think we would be as close as we are. Because we struggled, it brought us so much closer together. We know how to have fun without having to spend money, we know how to find great bargains, and we figured out how to get by with the things we have. These are all habits that I know we will continue to live with!

One of the amazing things about the past three years is how God didn't once let us down. When we thought there was no way we were going to make it he provided for us in more ways than we ever could have imagined. God is so, so faithful and He always does and always will provide!