I believe Paul is referring to the provisions that the church supplied him with during his missionary journey and how God will be faithful to fulfill the church’s needs in return. But, I think this can be accurately applied to the life an individual believer as well. If we give ourselves up to Him, He will be faithful to supply our needs and give us peace through Jesus Christ.
Let me back up and give a quick overview of what life’s been like for the husband and me, so you can understand why this topic is so relevant and dear to my heart.
We got married in the summer of 2010. Andrew still had his senior year of college to finish and I had no job – oh, and we were moving to a tiny, tiny apartment in a tiny, tiny town 180 miles away.
No friends. No family. And no way to support ourselves once Andrew’s internship ended and he went back to school. Things were looking pretty grim – but God provided. I found a job right around the corner from where we lived which was incredibly helpful since we only had one car [we still only have one car, btw].
Now, I’m not going to say that this was my dream job and it was amazing and everything was all peaches from there on out. Hardly. I was working in a call center – something my introverted self absolutely loathed. There were several mornings I cried my eyes out before going to work and more than one occasion where I cried at work. I was lonely. I hated my job. I missed my family. It was a seriously dark and depressing time for me. The only thing that was getting me through was the hope that we could move back home after Andrew graduated.
Obviously that didn’t happen. I was crushed at first, but God provided again. We started getting more involved with our church and meeting other couples and making friends. Suddenly staying in the area didn’t seem so bad! I got to move into a nicer, bigger place in a nicer, bigger city and I got to quit my job when Andrew started his fellowship. My attitude has done a 180 and now I can’t imagine leaving this area!
Of course now that I’m all settled and loving life here in Fairborn, we’re facing the possibility of moving out of state after Andrew graduates from grad school. Let me explain:
His school pays him to go there and do research for them with the condition that he get an internship and a job with the government for two years after graduation. Right now he’s applying for a summer internship all over the U.S. His top pick is in Baltimore and he’s already had an interview with them. Now, just because he does his internship with them doesn’t necessarily mean that’s where he has to work after he graduates, but that will probably be the case.
Once again I’m faced with the possibility of picking up my life and moving someplace totally new.
Here is a better idea of how far we’d be moving [courtesy of Google Maps].
That’s like eight and a half hours away from where we are now, and I don’t even want to think about how far away it is from our family in Northern Ohio. Okay, so it’s not like we’d be moving to California or Alaska or anything, but it’s still further from my family/friends than I ever wanted to be.
But based on my experience before, when I thought we’d get to move back to Northern Ohio and my hopes were totally obliterated, I’m trying not to plan ahead and stress about it. I know it’s ultimately in God’s hands. There’s no telling whether Andrew will even get the internship in Baltimore and worrying about a hypothetical future wont stop it from happening anyway.
Whatever our future holds, I trust that God knows what’s best for us and will direct us down that path. In the meantime though, I’ve thought up pros to both situations. I’m not thinking about cons – negativity gets you nowhere and only leads to stress and like I said before there’s no point in stressing about something that I don’t even know is going to happen yet.
Pros of Staying in Fairborn
- established church family
- great friends
- familiarity
- closer to home
Pros of Moving to Baltimore
- starting over in a new place can be exciting
- meet new people
- it’s Baltimore! tons of things to do and see and it’s near the ocean
- a job Andrew will love
Lots to consider. And there could very well be a third, fourth, or even fifth option that we don't even know about yet. I’m so, so, SO thankful for a God who is in control. I don’t know how I could ever have gotten through all of these major life changes without faith in His promises. So I’ll continue to trust in Him and His will and His timing. It’s amazing how one little word like faith can change impatience, uncertainty, and anxiety into patience, peace, and contentment.
“Peace I leave with you; My peace I give to you; not as the world gives do I give to you. Do not let your heart be troubled, nor let it be fearful.”
John 14:27 NASB
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