Remembering the Trials Helps You Appreciate the Blessings
Sometimes it’s good to look back. As I was sitting in church yesterday, listening to our pastor teach on Jesus feeding the 4000, I was reminded of a time when God’s provision was evident in our lives.
Don’t get me wrong. He is always providing for us. But sometimes it’s more obvious than others.
In May 2007, my husband lost his job as a newspaper advertising manager. The economy had already begun to sour in the media advertising industry, and it was tough to find a job.
Jim (my husband) landed a sales job for one of the phone book companies, but soon it became obvious that job wouldn’t pay the bills. He landed another job as an advertising salesperson for a local radio station, but got fired a couple of months later, because the sales weren’t coming in.
After that Jim took any job he could find, so we could stay afloat. He worked nights, doing janitorial work. Soon after he added another job (which turned into his current position), as an on-air radio sports guy. The problem? He got off work at his janitorial job at 3 a.m. and had to be at the radio station at 4:45.
Even between the jobs, sometimes the finances just didn’t add up. And yet, every time we thought we’d sink, God provided through some means, and we stayed on top of our bills and kept a roof over our heads. We had to cut out a lot, and sometimes it still didn’t seem enough. The kids rarely saw their dad during that time, because he was asleep, when he was at home.
Despite how bad it sounds, I’m thankful for that trying year. Certainly it was difficult. But our faith in God grew by leaps and bounds. There were times when we wanted to give up. But God showed us that He was with us, even in the “valley of the shadow.”
Through the bad times, God richly blessed me through this blog, by allowing me to share with you all my story and the things I’ve learned. And that bad time in our lives has turned into a season where my husband is working at a job he loves and I am doing the same by continuing to publish BeingFrugal.net.
The things I learned and the blessings I’ve received from the awful year of 2007 are priceless to me. The tough times are hard, and it’s often difficult to see the bright side through the dark clouds. But oftentimes there are blessings to be found, even in the darkest times.
Do you find that remembering the hard times helps you appreciate the blessings you have in the good times?
Photo by linh.ngan.
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By Lynnae McCoy, on Jul 20, 2009
I'm Lynnae, wife of one and stay-at-home mom of two. I'm committed to getting out of debt by being frugal with my choices in life.
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Thanks for sharing. My wife and I wonder how we have survive some of the things life has thrown at us. We used to call it the “Now What?!” situation. Thankfully, now there are fewer “Now What’s” to deal with.
My husband was fired from his job in March of ’07 (found out I was pregnant in May then mis-carried in June, it was not a good year) & we’re STILL trying to dig out. My wonderful, hard-working husband is normally gone from 7:30am-:30pm everyday M-F. I’m very thankful & blessed that he doesn’t have to work weekends right now. But even with his two jobs (one that he loves & one that he hates) & me tightening the reigns as much as possible we still don’t make ends meet. There have been very few extras around here in the last 2.5 years. Thankfully the only debt we have are the house & student loans. God has seen us through & He will continue to do so. Our waste bands tell that we have never missed a meal & we’ve never missed a payment on anything. We know there’s a light at the end of the tunnel. We’re just trying to follow God’s lead for our lives.
Oh, I remember having a year like that – 2006-2007 school year. Thing after thing went wrong – bitten by a stray cat, apartment flooding, car breaking down multiple times, bad job (but it did pay the rent thank goodness), no hot water, no water at all, bike stolen, hit by a car, cell phone lost, apartment broken into, and on and on. It was awful.
I find it absolutely amazing now that I turn on the sink and there is hot water every day. And I feel safe when I go to sleep. I appreciate those two simple things more than ever.
Our awful 2007 actually started in September 2006 and lasted until April, 2008. During that time we had to have extensive foundation work done on our house, move my mother in law 300 miles closer to us (with very little help from my husband’s siblings), recover from dislocating and breaking all the bones in my ankle which required 2 surgeries and a 1 1/2 year recovery, my husband’s surgery to remove a brain tumor which was a 1 1/2 year recover for him, my parent’s car wreck in which they should have died but walked away from the accident without any injuries, my daughter’s engagement and wedding with extremely difficult groom’s parents (they did nothing except show up at the wedding), and to finish the year I had a breast cancer scare that required surgery on New Year’s Eve. At one time I told my husband I was going to have “Job” stamped across my forehead because I felt that I could relate to his story in the Bible. The one thing that kept me going during this eventful time was that I knew that God was walking each step of the way with me. He provided me with supportive parents that came to our aid over and over. I look back now and wonder how anyone else that would be faced with these difficulties could face them without prayer and God.
after the death of my husband …i thought i was going to lose my mind because my in laws tried to take my seven year old daughter away from me ..you see my sweet husband of over 20 years took his own life by knife and our little girl was home alone with him that day …i was working ..His parents blame me for the death ..but phone records show the last person he talked with was his mom /dad …. there were no signs that things were so bad for him ..He was happy the night before …we had dinner ..he took her swimming ..we watched a movie …put her to bed ..made love ..showered and then i left for work ..he kissed me and say love u ..see u later and be careful its raining ……….a big part of my world ended that day ….but when i think of how lucky we have been …we could have all die that day ..or he could have taken her too …i know God was right there with her …keeping her safe from him …
now i it’s off subject but it keeps happening all the time ……too much ..too many people have die this way …and there not never any answers to why ????
Praise the Lord for all he has done for all of us. Yes, there have been many times of heartache and grief. Standing on the promises God made to us all has always helped. Belief and Faith and Lots of Love.
Great post. Our awful “year” began Nov. 2006 and I pray it is ending next month. DH landed a second job that starts next month and would put us at full time hours between the two. We’ve seen numerous blessings throughout this time and I praise God often for them.
This is a fantastic post, and thank you for sharing it. They say that without night, we wouldn’t be able to appreciate the daylight, and I think this post really speaks to that.
WOW.. You did have to go through some rough times. I complain sometimes just about the kids being bad and I am so thankful that that’s all I have to worry about right now. What a great testimony. I love your blog, thanks for sharing your story. Have a blessed day!