Thoughts I wrote out 2 years ago in 2020 as this world was starting to get crazy. Hope it is an encouragement to you as well today.
A Christian, wife of a furloughed husband, and pregnant mom’s view of the crazy world right now …
If you had asked me a few weeks ago about this I would never have dreamed in a million years this is where we would be at!
For the past 7+ years our family has had ups and downs! God has always provided but there were moments of “are we going to lose our house” … “are we going to have food” … “our electric was cut off and we need extra to turn it on” … but everytime God provided in some way for our needs … We have been learning this over time. We know God is our great provider and also nothing surprises him.
So when we got pregnant, just shortly after Roger was back at work after months out on workers comp, we first just took a moment to pray … then just trusted God that He was going to take care of our family. We were finally starting to pay our bills in full on time again, Roger was working, things were normal for once, like we could actually go out to eat and not freak out about it!
Our tax return came in and we seriously were praying about using 90% of it to pay off debt! We knew we wanted some so start rebuilding our savings again …. Something was just telling us (especially my husband) no you need to hold on to more right now. This was about a week before all this crazy started! GOD always knows what is going to happen and God is ALWAYS in control and will provide for our needs. On top of that we also qualified for medicaid for me in the middle of March!
End of March we got the news, BMW will shut down for at least 2 weeks … but they would only get 1 week of pay … It is ok, we had money set aside for this. Then the news came he would be furloughed (not laid off like so many others) and that was just a relief for us … the company would file unemployment on our behalf and we should get those benefits. Now let me tell you, that unemployment site is no picnic! lol … We are still waiting to hear back on that but again, I am so thankful God had this already in his plans! We are all caught up in our bills, so if something drastic happens and we couldn’t pay something this month we will still be ok. We have food, water, clothes, etc. We have family and church family to help too. And if we lose our insurance, I have Medicaid!
On Sunday we had a message on Psalm 46 … I NEEDED this! I had been going nuts and dealing with high anxiety over all the news on social media and all the crazy I was seeing. I am pregnant and was nervous about what the future would help with this area of our life too. Still wondering about the future of Roger’s job … would we be able to go on vacation this summer … would I be able to have Roger off for the delivery of our baby and would family be allowed to travel here?
“Be still … release … give it over to me” … that is what God is saying … “sit still, reflect on WHO I AM … Remember all I have done for you and others!” Have I been taking time to really be in God’s word lately? Have I really been trusting Him and releasing things out of my control?
God is in control, He has a plan, His name will be glorified, He will provide … He is our fortress in times of trouble!
So enter today … a completely different OB appointment then one would have ever dreamed of … sitting in the car till they were ready for me. Then having my temp taken and given a mask to wear for the whole appointment. I was the only one allowed to go in, no husband to be with me to support me. Sitting in my car for an hour again waiting for them to be able to do blood work. Then being told that it is a very high chance that Roger will not be able to be with me for our anatomy scan in 4 weeks. How are you not supposed to share that moment with your partner? The one who is part of this little miracle being brought into this world? Things could change by then but God again was saying “Sarah, Be still, release, I am your fortress, trust in me” …
I know things are going to be different, I know they already are. Faith over fear! We can’t live in fear! We are to look to God during this time. We are to be a light and bring glory to His name! We are to trust Him. We are also to obey the leaders He set over us. This means staying home as much as possible, this means being wise, doing online meetings and calls vs in person, protecting those around us. We are to love one another, still encourage one another and build each other up. We should not be the ones spreading anxiety and fear on social media! We should be sharing the greatness of our Savior!
I know this means Roger is not getting FMLA now, he will not be able to be with me for 2-3 weeks like we planned for my recovery after the C-section. I know this means we will have to rely even more on family, church family, and friends. I know this means we may have some uncertainty about income and jobs … but I also know that the God of the Universe has all this in His hands. He has a perfect plan, His name will be glorified in all this and I pray it does! That we will grow closer to Him and each other during this time. That God would continue to teach me these lessons, that I would be Be still and know He is God!
I pray for so many affected in various ways by this! I pray for my pregnant friends, those who may be delivering or going to important appointments without their spouse, who may not know if their job is secure or how they will provide for their family. God knows all this, He is holding you all. Remember “Be still, release, trust, and remember WHO HE IS … He is our FORTRESS in times of trouble” Run to Jesus!
Living Life with a Purpose 