God's Mercies

I know it has been too long since I've posted. It has been busy here! My in-laws came for a nice visit and after that, we had a week totally absorbed in preparations for our preschool ministry's annual Easter Egg Hunt. I always say that when I "retire", the person who succeeds me must have a large family, because it takes ALL of my family to pull off half of the stuff I do in my work at church. Anything from needing a last minute substitutes, to recruiting teen helpers, to stuffing 2,000 eggs for the Easter egg hunt! (and so much more.)

Mark continues to see steady activity in the business. We have not yet been able to write ourselves a paycheck, but the work is definitely heading in the right direction and we're getting closer to that goal. I've asked you repeatedly to pray for consistency in the work, and the Lord has given us that. Please make sure to praise Him and thank Him for that!! Now, I ask you to pray for continued consistency, and increase in the work!

I need to ask Mark to look at our books and confirm this with hard figures.... but, it seems that we finally got over our hump in the business around the time we gave our testimony at church. After we shared, Pastor asked everyone to pray for us, and I felt in my heart many sincere prayers that were prayed that morning! We also know many people at church were not aware of our situation until that day, and have been praying for us ever since. So, my bottom line is that I think that the the improvement in the business has a direct correlation to the power of prayer!

Now I must share an exciting discovery. In my Bible study I read this passage in Exodus 23. It is passage where God gives his assurances to the Israelites and tells how He will help them, but also an explanation as to why their progress in the Promised Land would be slow.:

"I will send My terror ahead of you and throw into confusion every nation you encounter. I will make all your enemies turn their backs and run. I will send the hornet ahead of you to drive the Hivites, Canaanites and Hittites out of your way. But I will not drive them out in a single year, because the land would become desolate and the wild animals too numerous for you. Little by little I will drive them out before you, until you have increased enough to take possession of the land."

The Message puts verse 30 this way:
"Little by little I'll get them out of there while you have a chance to get your crops going and make the land your own."

I see a direct correlation between this passage and our lives over the last year. Mark and I wanted and expected this business to take off faster than it has. Of course, just as Mark was diving into the industry, the housing market began to soften and eventually declined. But, even more frustrating was the fact that we felt God opened the door for the business and we knew He was capable of making things happen quickly. So, why didn't He? Perhaps it is for the same reasons He did not drive the inhabitants of the Israelite's land all at one time. He did it little by little because He wanted Israel to become stronger and better established in the land. It would be a gradual, but effective process. They would gain control of each part, as they were ready, and the slow progress would allow them to posses a land in good condition that could fully support them. He wanted them to be ready.

It made me think of our son, learning to drive. We first had him drive in a parking lot and learn how to maneuver the car. Then we took him to easy side streets and let him experience just a little traffic and stop signs and all of that. Later, we let him drive on busier streets and slowly progressed to the point where we thought he was ready to drive alone. But, even then, we had rules. No passengers for the first three months. Only driving familiar areas until he was confident. And so on... We knew we it would not benefit him to throw him in and let him learn everything all at once. We knew the process should be gradual in order to produce the best outcome.

Likewise, a slow start to the business has had its benefits. We have had time to develop better marketing tactics, to test different things and learn what works. We've had time to better define our vision for the business, to develop our own ideas on how things should be done.... to make it our own, rather than a carbon copy of others. Mark has had time to nurture great relationships with Realtors and to become a valuable information resource to many of them. He can take as much time as he feels he needs for an inspection, he doesn't have to rush off to another one. He has had time to take lots of classes and get more certifications and be better educated in the inspection business. He has had time to write Continuing Ed courses and teach them, which has been very valuable in developing meaningful relationships with Realtors. If he had become very busy immediately, it sure would've felt good, but would he have the strong foundation that would keep us going for many years to come?

So here is my new thought for the day.....

God, in His wisdom, often delays mercies because we are not ready for them.

Thank you, friends, for your patient prayers, love and support. It would've been easy to forget about us by now, or to be frustrated by our slow progress... but you continue to remember us and help us along. Thank you!