As per usual, we find ourselves in the right place at the right time when we least expect to be. There is no doubt that God is leading the way for us. I feel a little like a kid again, sitting in my family's old metal radio flyer wagon, being taken around the driveway at the will of the one holding the handle. I used to try to drive myself, with my legs hanging over the sides of the wagon, my legs hardly long enough to scoot myself along with my feet. It never worked very well, and I never got very far. I imagine it is a little like myself now, when I try to direct my own life, at my own pace. No matter how fast I move my legs, if only my tippy-toes touch the ground, I won't go very far very fast. I guess in my life wagon, it is better to let the only One who has the strength to lead me along, have control of where I go and how fast I get there.
Analogies aside, here is a look at what God has been doing for us the last few days.
Wednesday: Nick found a job online that looked interesting, so we decided to drive to AR for a quick interview. We were a bit disappointed when we pulled into the parking lot. It was sketchy at best. The owner/manager was very unprofessional. Nick left there with a bad taste in his mouth, and since the weather was supposed to get bad, we basically turned around and came all the way home. On the up side, on our way to the interview, I got a call from the place I had interviewed with a few weeks before and they wanted to offer me a job! I needed to take a drug test, but they did not get the info I needed before the testing office closed, so we needed to come back to AR again on Thursday, since my orientation would be Friday.
Thursday: Drove to AR once again, and took my drug test without a hitch. The weather was supposed to get bad later, but since I was about to start a new job, we really needed to find a place to live. We had checked out most of the apartments in the area and hardly any had a decent rating online, and if they did, it was way out of our price range. We were about to give up hope and once again turn around and go home since the weather was supposed to get bad. I pulled up craigslist on my phone one last time, not expecting any change. Not 10 mins before one of the apartments we had been really interested in had posted they had an opening exactly in our price range! To give some background, we had stopped by a few weeks before and while we really liked the apartments, they only had an opening for July and though it was a great 2 bedroom, it was really more than we wanted to spend per month. Plus we could not wait that long to move. The posting I had found online was for a one bedroom, exactly in our target price range, and it would be available in less than a week and the latest. Not to mention it was 700 sq ft and about $45 cheaper than our 450 sq ft studio! Needless to say, I called the landlord right away. She said she would wait for us even though it was about time for her to leave and then took the time to answer all our questions and give us some applications. We did not have any checks on us, so in order to give her the application fee we needed to come back first thing in the morning with a money order before she gave the apartment away to someone that had the money on them. We decided that though it would be cheaper to drive back to Tulsa, we were going to need to go to the bank when they opened and then go straight to the apartments and it would be better to stay the night. I also had my orientation that afternoon. Since we have both been out of a job, staying in a hotel really was not something we wanted to do, but I was able to find a room online for a great price at one of the best rated hotels in Bentonville. I made the reservation as we drove to the hotel. It even had a kitchenette (not that we used it). Technology is great. That night, the rain came down, the tornado sirens went off, and we watched HGTV until going to bed.
Friday: Unfortunately, we did not sleep very well since our sleep schedules have been wacked out, but it was better than having to get up at 5:30. We drove straight to the bank and got money orders for our application fee and our deposit. After that, we made our way to the apartments and handed in our applications, and put down a deposit on our new home! We had brunch at Bob Evan's and killed time until my orientation at 1. After everything was taken care of, we finally made the drive back to Tulsa and I took a very long nap.
Saturday (Today): We slept in way too late. I had ice cream for lunch. I wrote this blog. Now I need to figure out what to eat for an actual meal, and possibly go buy some new pants and shoes for work. Someday, I will work a job where I don't have to wear all black.
I start my new job on Monday, and my hope is that we will be able to move in on Tuesday since I have the day off, but at the latest it will be Wednesday. I should only have to commute to work once, but at the most twice. It is always when I feel at my lowest, and I tell God that I can't take it anymore that He is faithful to show me that He is still working and eases my worries. I just need to sit tight and let Him lead me in my little red wagon.
