winter update

I must write...I must write...

No job yet. A couple possibilities haven't panned out. Between Christmas break and all the snow days I haven't had much substitute teaching work this winter. So we're broke, praying for answers, trying to trust God.

I am going to Washington state for a week in March for meetings and interviews with several churches and schools. We're hoping to get a job there and move in the summer.

I usually love the snow, but after all the shoveling, I've had enough.

I have enjoyed good time with my family, having spent a lot more time at home than usual. And George Mason is having a much better season than I expected.

Life is good, stressful, frustrating, fun and always unpredictable.

In the midst of all this, especially with frustrating events (a church that offered me a job, then revoked the offer...a busted water heater that flooded our basement and family room...) the tendancy is to ask, "Why? What is God doing? Doesn't he know we don't have money for this? Doesn't he know we need that job? Why isn't he helping? Is he punishing us? "

But my mind goes from those questions, trying to understand why, to looking for how God is present in the midst of circumstances; even in little things: while cleaning out the flooded playroom, Jamie found my missing bluetooth...We're now forced to get started on the cleaning and purging we need to do before moving.

One of the biggest things was finding someone to help us with the water heater. Mike and Grace P. came down over bad roads; Grace hung out with Jamie and the kids while Mike helped us replace the water heater, and charged us much less than he could have. It also gave us a chance to have some good time with good people.

It's not productive for me to try and figure out why. I tend to do better when I seek to see how God is present and working in our lives, and the lives of people around us, especially when life brings challenges.