Just about a year ago, I posted a blog about the wonderful friends that God has given me.

http://justtryingtobeablessing.blogspot.com/search/label/friendships I remember when I wrote that blog, I was feeling overwhelmed with how much God loves me and how He blesses me. I am feeling that same way again today! I am remembering a specific gloomy period of my life I was in not too long ago, that was long and dark. I'm amazed at how different my life is now from then.

A few years ago when we were preparing to move from Seattle back to Michigan, a group of pastor's wives and fellow staff wives prayed with me that God would put me in a nurturing environment where I would thrive. These ladies knew how much I was struggling out there with my husband working seventy plus hours a week and he was traveling away from home a lot with work related stuff. I was left at home with three small kids, homeschooling, cleaning houses, running a dog-boarding business, trying to keep up with a 3 acre lawn, and a 2 acre orchard, no family around, and a I was a stranger in strange territory! I was so exhausted and felt so alone. If the tractor got stuck, I had to figure out how to get it "unstuck." If the van broke down, that was my problem. I just felt like I had a lot resting on my shoulders, and I had to be very self-sufficient and independent.

It wasn't that this was how my husband had wanted things to be. He had a job that was WAY TOO big for any one person to try to do. When we left, they actually had to hire two different people to fill his role, and even then, they scaled back the responsibilities of those jobs. Plus, we were put in a financial predicament from our identity theft, being burglarized, the gap between salary and cost of living, etc. that forced us to have to work so much just to keep our heads above water. I knew that I needed to do all I could to free Ryan up to be able to do what God had called him to do, so I assumed a lot of his responsibilities at home. All this said just to say, that I did not feel very taken care of or nurtured. On top of all of that, there were just a lot of very scary, and very unfortunate situations and relationships we were dealing with that rocked us to the core. There was pressure, sadness, and stress in just about every aspect of our lives. This group of ladies I mentioned earlier, were so incredibly encouraging, and wonderful prayer warriors on my behalf.

We have lived here in Michigan for two years now, and I still am just in awe at how God has answered the prayers of those ladies. I have such a wonderful church family who is very thoughtful and conscientious about my husband being able to be home with his family. Several of the deacons even tell him to, "go home, you've worked enough!" Others see a need, or God lays something on their hearts and they just show up and bless our family. For example, a friend of mine saw some pictures of our fence we are putting up, and showed up at our house with an adorable garden arch that would compliment our fence. Another friend called me last week and told me that she wanted to give my daughter piano lessons for free this school year. I have been praying the last 3 years about that very thing. We don't have the money to pay for lessons, but I really want my daughter to know how to play. What an amazing answer to prayer!

God has also blessed me with an incredible circle of friends outside of my church as well. They are fellow believers, but attend another church. They are just the most genuine, deep, and sincere girls I have ever met. We are doing an accountability group this year to help support each-other as wives and homeschooling moms. What a gift God has given to me in them. I need them to bounce ideas off, to share life with, an to help motivate me! Another dear friend e-mailed me while I was on vacation and asked me if she could take my kids for a morning when I got back. I SO needed to be able to get my bearings again, unpack, and go grocery shopping. All of those things don't necessarily happen very smoothly with 4 children with me. Because of this sweet person's gift to me, I was able to accomplish all of those things!

To top it all off, I think I have the sweetest family in all of the world! On a side note, my sister just bought a house here in town.....5 houses away from mine! AMAZING! Now all of my family is within 45 minutes of me. Yesterday, which was Labor Day, they all decided to bless us, and spend the day at our house helping us with various open-ended projects. This has been the year of home renovations for us, and we know that winter isn't too far away. We've had all of these projects staring us in the face, consuming every spare second, and all of our building supplies are outside. We've been trying to figure out how it is going to get done before the snow flies. We were able to accomplish SO much yesterday. It's amazing what an extra 14 hands can accomplish!

The specific words that my friends out west prayed over me keep coming back to me. That God would "put me in a nurturing environment where I would thrive." This situation we are in now really truly is just that very thing! I have a wonderful church family, wonderful friends, and my family all around me. What a contrast! My family was 2, 500 miles away from me, and now my sister lives 5 houses away. Go figure!!!

I'm not saying that my life is perfect and there aren't still difficult things in my life. That is unrealistic! I am saying though, that I have an incredible support system around me to help me through those difficult things. People that I know love me, and I can be real with. The very thing I was praying for! I am so thankful that in my despair, hurt, and loneliness I remained faithful to the Lord, to my husband, and to my convictions. I see how God is blessing me now for the choices I made then. Not that I'm into hocus-pocus spiritual sensationalism, but I really think that it is no coincidence that my prayers were answered specifically right down to the very definition of the words I prayed...nurturing and flourishing. I also find it very cool that we are living on a street named after a specific location that was the place where a lot of hurt took place. Every time I write my address, I am reminded of God's goodness. I really believe He has rewarded us with this house, on this street, for all of the heartache we went through in ministry in the past.

So, my friend, I don't know what kind of gloomy days you might be in right now, how long you've been there, or what you are going through. I do know that God sees you, and He does care! Keep clinging to Him and remain faithful in every area. As the brilliant song by Switchfoot says, "The Shadow Proves the Sunshine." Shadows are evidence that the sun exists and is present. You might not feel the warmth and light from the sun while you're in the shadows, but it is still there and it is still doing it's job. God is still working and doing His job even in those gloomy days. Hold on for the sunshine ahead. You appreciate the sunshine and blessings so much more and don't take them for granted, when you've just come out of the shadows and gloom.