In Every trial
Oct 16, 2022 | by The Fellowship
In early 2015, my job of many years with British Petroleum was eliminated. I was no longer able to avoid the downturn and layoffs that plagued the oil & gas industry at that time. At 57, I was not ready to give up all my professional experience and talents; I had so much more that I wanted to do and to contribute! The following two years of unemployment, while challenging, proved to be a rest period God gave me to enjoy my family and grandchildren; it certainly was a time to reset and have long discussions with the Lord.
Every week, our LIFE Group had also been praying very hard for me to find a job in my profession of health, safety and environmental compliance. Those prayers were answered when the school where I received my Master’s Degree, Texas A&M University, hired me as Assistant Director for Safety and Environmental Compliance! I was overjoyed to work again in my field at my old school!
We began to plan our retirement home in the Fredericksburg, Texas, area in early 2020 just before the pandemic hit. Once again, God provided the builder that made it a reality. The timing of our decision to build right away proved to be a blessing, as we see how the construction market has changed so much since then.
In the summer of 2021, we moved out of College Station to start a new life in the hill country. That whole re-location process was another answered prayer, and God continues to help us adjust to a new lifestyle in a much different area.
I still did not want to quit the profession I so enjoy, however. God again answered our prayers when I began to search for a room to rent for the days I would be working in College Station. Not an easy task in a town with 73,000 university students! But once again, God provided when He led me to a very reasonable efficiency room for rent at a Pastor's home in Bryan, not far from campus. My landlord has been an inspiration and a true blessing to me as I work at A&M during the week, and we have had some great conversations. Texas A&M even agreed to flex my schedule so I could have long weekends at home. Only God can do that!
This path that I am on, and the people that I have met along the way, can only be described as a God thing. I thank my LIFE Group and The Fellowship for praying so diligently for me and my family. It has not been a smooth road (to say the least), but we have seen how God takes the most painful experiences and fulfills a greater purpose.
With God's provision, we continue to be a support and source of God’s love for our children and grandchildren. We attend The Fellowship as much as we can when we are in the Houston area where our daughter lives. God has provided us a friendly and supportive community in our new home base, as well as a Bible study group where we lift one another's needs in prayer. God has never failed yet to bless us through each trial and day-to-day challenge that are an inescapable part of this life.
J.G.
The Lord is my shepherd, I lack nothing.
He makes me lie down in green pastures,
he leads me beside quiet waters,
he refreshes my soul.
Psalm 23:1-3