Our family moved from Sacramento, California almost 5 years ago to a beautiful place in the mountains in northern Utah, named Cache Valley. For the next 4 and a half years, my husband, Rob, was a full time caregiver for his mom who had dementia. He gave his all to make sure she had the best possible care. It was very difficult, at times, but we also considered it a great blessing in our lives. She passed away 6 months ago, and ever since that time, Rob's health has deteriorated. He has chronic headaches, back aches, depression, and various other pains in his chest and abdomen. Before he became her caregiver, he drove a big rig truck for over 25 years. He has always worked too hard, and had a lot of anxiety. This has all caught up with him now, and has been told by his doctor that because of the damage done to his back that he shouldn't lift over 25 lbs.
This all has been very frustrating for the both of us. Here we are in this beautiful place, and he is always hurting and no longer has the energy or desire to do the things he used to enjoy doing. He started wondering if God was even aware of him anymore or ever heard his prayers. One day while we were taking a walk, I received an insight that was very comforting. Instead of thinking about how sad our situation was, and that God was unaware of us, suddenly I realized that God knew what was happening with Rob's health. He knew it a long time ago. And since He knew that it was going to happen, He prepared a situation for us that allowed us to be able to make it. If we were still in California, struggling like we were there financially and Rob became disabled, we wouldn't have been able to make it. But here, we own our home which makes it possible for me to support us right now. The Lord moved us to a beautiful place that we both love, provided me a job using my talents. He didn't remove the trial, because we need to go through trials in order to learn how to become like Him. But He loves us and supports and helps us through the trials. In this case, He truly provided a miracle so that we would be able to endure this trial.
In order to truly understand the magnitude of this miracle, consider this:
In California, we were over $13,000.00 in credit card debt and the debt was growing in spite of our efforts because we didn't make enough money. We still owed 10 years on our house, and we didn't like where we lived. Rob was working crazy hours and his job was threatened because his company was considering moving to the bay area.
Imagine if someone came along and told us they wanted to pay off our credit card debt, pay off our house and give us a home in the mountains of Utah that was twice as big with a beautiful park like yard. They wanted to give me a job I would love using my musical talents. And to top it off, they wanted to give us $10,000.00 in cash. Well, that's what the Lord did for us. He provided a situation that did just that.
When I looked at our situation with that perspective, suddenly I was full of gratitude. Our trials were still there, but I felt loved and treasured by the Lord. I knew then that we would be able to handle whatever came our way, because we were not alone. We are truly blessed.
