Trials

On Monday, Pat called me from work.
I responded with a cheery, "Good morning!", to which he responded, "Not really."
As that response was NOT at all typical, I was surprised, but not shocked when he followed those words up with the news that his job had just been officially downsized and he was no longer employed.
(His actual words?  "I was canned this morning.")

Immediately, my heart started pounding, with fear, shock, and concern.
As quickly as those emotions started, I felt a profound peace in my heart.
I knew of a surety at that moment that we are in God's hands.
There is a plan for us.
There is NO question in my mind about the reality of those two statements.
They are reality.

I have no idea what the path ahead will hold for us.
I do know, IF we can and will listen to the voice of the Lord, He will guide us onto the path that He needs us on.

I, literally, have given thanks to God multiple times over the past week for the choice we made about 5 years ago to get our finances in order.
Dave Ramsey, and his Total Money Makeover has literally put us in a place where we can weather this storm without having to dramatically alter our life.
I give thanks to our Heavenly Father for the inspiration and guidance to implement those budgeting strategies then, and not NOW.  
Because we chose to listen and consistently work at it, our debt is almost entirely under control.
We have resources that we can pull from.
We have food in our pantry.
And, most importantly, we have each other.

As trials go, this one is temporal for the most part.
We will count our blessings as we endure this.
Pray for us.
We need clarity and understanding of what God's plan is for us...and we will know.
Of that I have no doubt.