Where is There? | Previous Challenge Entry

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TITLE: Where is There? | Previous Challenge Entry
By Teresa Odden
03/08/17
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I lived in the same state for 47 years until I moved to Germany in 2011. Returning from Germany January 2017 was quite cumbersome, to say the least. This was all new to me.

For six months my husband was told he had a job in Washington, DC. We were excited. I always wanted to live in DC.

Excited for our new adventure I continued to pray that God would pave the way and go before us. Many times, I asked God if we weren’t supposed to live there to close the door. He did.

A week before Christmas we were notified we wouldn’t be moving to DC. My husband asked where he would work. We weren’t expecting their reply. “We don’t know.” Clearly God had other plans.

It was during this time things became more troublesome. We had given up our flat and needed to begin coordinating movers to come mid-January to prepare shipment of our household goods to the states. The problem was we had no idea where “there” was.

Making endless phone calls to find out where and when we were going, alas we were told Pennsylvania. A rush to get things coordinated during the Christmas season was quite a challenge. Our goal was to get things shipped as soon as possible so that our goods would arrive state-side before we did.

Though the move started out hectic, once we received the paperwork, orchestrating logistics came together nicely. The movers came and a week later we prepared our vehicle to be shipped across the Atlantic. We arrived in Pennsylvania mid-February and were told our household goods had arrived. However, no news on our vehicle.

A few weeks living in a hotel in Pennsylvania we received an email that the vessel our vehicle was on experienced a fire. The ship returned to port and we were told to await an update to possible damages.

We weren’t quite prepared to deal with the onerous damage to our vehicle. We prayed and waited.

After 10 days, we received a notification that all unaffected vehicles would be at the normal point of entry. For those who didn’t receive a previous email on the status of their car could anticipate that the vehicle “has sustained irreparable damage.” Sadly, we didn’t receive an email confirming our vehicle wasn’t damaged.

Upon our return, we rented a vehicle, and sadly, this news required us to extend our rental car for two additional weeks, maybe more.

We’re debt free and want to remain this way. Our car was paid off and this unexpected turn of events isn’t only burdensome to our current expenses, but could possibly impact long-term finances This unexpected delay has made the process of moving stateside cumbersome.

I forgot how expensive it’s to move. The added expenses for deposit on housing, switching on cable and Wi-Fi connections, new cellphone carrier, and renting a car indefinitely is becoming a financial burden.

I know that regardless of circumstances I see and don’t see, God is in the details. Psalm 8:3-4 states, “When I consider your heavens, the work of your fingers, the moon and the stars, which you’ve set in place, what’s mankind that you’re mindful of them, human beings that you care for them?”

For reasons we don’t know and may never know, God unexpectedly and suddenly sent us to Pennsylvania. Regardless what’s on paper, I know that God will restore our finances in a way that He knows is best.

Though we see a temporary hardship, with God, all things work for good. Romans 8:28

Thankfully, our need isn’t a life-threatening situation, but to God it isn’t insignificant. God says He takes care of the lilies of the field, so He takes care of us, and more so. Luke 12:27 It’s a beautiful promise and one I rest in.

We’ve been living in a hotel for two months. We’ll miss someone making our bed every day, scrubbing the toilet, and having fresh towels, but, we’re ready to get settled. As for our vehicle, God knows it’s a necessity. I praise Him for taking care of us and I know He doesn’t cease from doing so.

I get excited when I think how God can be glorified through life’s inconveniences. With God, it will all come together and in the process I will have more to share how personal my God is.

“The LORD has been mindful of us; He will bless us.” What a beautiful thought and promise. Psalm 115:12

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