Paula’s husband had lost his job in October of 2009. His miscellaneous contract work had dried up and they could no longer afford their condo. She shared, “We didn’t have money at the time, but we were able to rent out the condo in ten days. The renters asked if we could lower the rent and, in return, they would pay six months' rent in advance. We were amazed. We could have never come up with that on our own.”
Friends in their Sunday school class offered their apartment to Paula and her family for five weeks as her husband continued looking for work. “We packed all our stuff for our family of five and put it in storage. It was humbling moving from our home to staying in someone else’s apartment. It was not at all where we expected to be. It was uncomfortable.”
Soon after, Pastor Greg gave a compelling sermon from the Book of Exodus about the Israelites in the desert. Paula thought, “Why am I complaining? Be grateful! We had so much to be thankful for even though it felt like we were ‘wandering in the desert.' ”
She continued, “I was reading One Thousand Gifts by Ann Voskamp. It made me think about all the things we had to be thankful for despite our circumstances. My husband and I decided to make this a summer adventure for our family and began writing down all the things we were thankful for on a daily basis.” They would talk about it with the kids every night. She didn’t want them to be discouraged by their situation. She felt that the only choice she had was to be strong for her kids. Otherwise she wouldn’t be able to get through this difficult time.
“We decided to choose joy and not lean on our own understanding. Proverbs 3:5-6 became our family verses. The gratitude list we wrote kept us going.”
A couple months passed, their friends were returning and it was time for them to move out of the apartment. They didn’t know where to go. Then their friends, the Jennings, offered their home for two weeks. Paula expressed, “I remember the drive to the Jennings' home. The kids were crying, I felt like everything was falling apart. I didn’t know how much more I could take.”
At this point, Paula’s husband still didn’t have consistent work. She thought of moving to Irvine with her kids (where her parents lived) while her husband would stay in the Los Angeles area working various jobs. “I remember telling friends, Al and Desiree Shier, over dinner of our plans. They looked at us and said, ‘You can’t do this, it’s a bad idea for your marriage. Why don’t you all move in with us?' That’s just what we did in July!”
Paula continued, “It was definitely hard to be on the receiving side, but we chose to be grateful and thankful, reflecting on the ‘Red Sea’ events in our journey, not grumbling about the current circumstances or trying to lean on our own understanding of our situation. Like it says in Chris Tomlin’s song Blessed Be Your Name, ‘Blessed be Your Name when I'm found in the desert place, though I walk through the wilderness, blessed be Your Name.’ "
I remember Pastor Greg's sermon. How do we get God's provision? By being vitally connected to our community... walking together. That is exactly how God provided for our family in the desert – through our community. They walked WITH us: Al and Desiree Shier, our small group and many others from our Homebuilders' community.”
In March 2013 Paula’s husband was offered a full time job and they were able to once again witness God’s provision through a perfect rental home for their family that same month. The unexpected and unplanned eight-month stay with Al and Desiree Shier was a time of refuge as well as a time for deepening friendships. This was God's path for their journey and Paula and her husband were humbled and grateful beyond words.
"In all of this we remembered and have continued to this day to meditate on: 'Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways submit to him, and he will make your paths straight.' - Proverbs 3:5-6"
Not Leaning on Our Understanding
