Hey y'all! Hope everyone has had a good weekend so far. Unfortunately, mine started out a little rocky yesterday. I was out showing clients some lake homes in Prosperty and everything was going fabulous until....I decided to try a 3-point turn in a narrow driveway and found myself stuck (in the Yukon) on a metal stake. I guess I turned the wheel just right and the steel rod (that I later discovered with "marking" a water valve) went in by the wheel and proceeded to pull apart my bumper. The sad part was I didn't realize this was happening and I took off more than half the bumper. I had to get a tow (not fun) and found out Onstar only tows 20 miles which is interesting when you are in the middle of the sticks. After a lot of phone calls and back and forth, we figured it all out and had a local body shop look at the car. Let's just say next week I was be visiting Farm Bureau's claim center because it is more out of pocket than we can afford!
On another completely different note, God is amazing!!! He has and is continuing to teach me so many things. There have been many times I was able to look back on a situation and see how God's hand was all in it but I must say that over the past few months, He has worked out so much for us and we can clearly see it is all Him. It started off back in the spring when God changed Scott's heart regarding adoption. I am so thankful that my husband has a growing relationship with the Lord and that he has allowed God to mold and shape him. As we begin discussing adoption, money was one of the first things we were forced to discuss. Back around the end of March, beginning of April, Scott was presented with a new job opportunity. For those of you who don't know, Scott is a physical therapist. This job seemed like a great opportunity and a huge plus was that is was literally not even 5 minutes from our house, much better than his 25-35 minute commute to Columbia. The new job meant an increase in pay as well which was great! Scott submitted a resignation letter to his current employer because he felt that there was no way his current employer could come close to the package he was offered. Well we were wrong! They actually were able to meet it and even offer better bonuses which was wonderful news and a huge relief for us financially! Also, he got his vacation time upped to 4 weeks paid time off which will come in handy once we finally get "the call".
I know everyone is aware that the real estate market is not what it was and my income has been affected by the drop in the economy since I am 100% commission. But again, God is bigger than any recession. April started off with no contracts, no pending deals, nothing. During April, I was able to write 1 contract, then 2 contracts.....and byy the end of the month, I had 5 deals waiting to close. As of today, all of those have closed except 1 (set to close mid August) and I praise God that He has allowed us to bank the majority of those funds for our adoption! He is continuing to provide by bringing new buyers and sellers my way and I am so glad He is in control of my business.
Isn't this so exciting?? Well the next thing I wanted to share with y'all came in May. As most of you know, I am a very social person. I have always tried to be a very honest, genuine person and I have never been scared about opening up and being real with people. As we begin this journey to adoption, I was talking to my friends and family about my fears, worries, excitement, etc. but no one could truly understand because they had not been down that road before. Well, Scott and I walked into our first meeting with Bethany and as soon as I walk in the door I hear "Hey Lauren!" I was so relieved and happy to look up and see a friend who I have known since high school that was also there with her husband for the meeting. Since then, she has been such a blessing in my life. I thank God for providing me with a friend who I can talk to who completely understands what I am feeling and for giving me with this special friendship.
Seriously, I am smiling now as I write this. The NEXT thing that happened in my life that has totally solidified to me that God is ALL over this was when an opportunity was presented to me to be the co-director of summer activities for a local children's shelter. This has been the most heart changing experience I have been through ever. Words will not be able to truly express how much this experience has meant to me. On a weekly basis, I have been able to go 3-4 outings per week with these precious children. We have done everything from swimming parties to water parks to movies to riding horses and I LOVE IT! I never would have been able to commit this much time to the children if I was working 50 plus hours a week like I was doing just a few short years ago. I do believe God gives us all different spiritual gifts and talents. I firmly believe that God has given me a heart for children and for ministering to children. This opportunity has also given me a chance to be around children of all different races, backgrounds and ages. We are very open in terms of our adoption preferences so I have been grateful to learn some new things this summer in the event we are blessed with a child of a different race. I have learned how to fix every little girl's hair (completely hilarious in the beginning!), being ashy is not cool and everyone needs sunscreen :) No doubt, God put me in this position for this time so He could reveal so many lessons to me in a very real way and I hope to continue working with the shelter for a long time!
Sorry this post ended up being so long but I really wanted to share just how great God is! I am so excited to see His plan unfold and to see how He will continue to use Scott and I for His glory. Please pray that Scott and I will continue to seek His will first and that we will put all of our faith and hope in Him on a daily basis.
I pray you see God's blessings and hand in your life!
Lauren
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