Provision

It has been quite the week in the Caskey household. To put it bluntly and without any kind of preamble, my husband was let go from his job. Fortunately for us, he was already seeking other job opportunities, but it was still a shock to find out that he wouldn't be able to work through the rest of this month. I have to admit I was stunned for a minute, but God has given us some incredible gifts this week, and I wanted to share them.

I have a tendency toward anxiety, sometimes extreme, but most of the time there is just this subtle twitching worry in the back of my mind about anything and everything. It can be overwhelming, especially during times of stress. But for some reason, both Pat and I have been pretty peaceful about the whole situation, and I know that that is a grace from God. Somehow, my always-worried-about-something-or-other brain has been able to accept this situation with the knowledge that God will provide, and He has.

His last day of work was on Wednesday. By Friday he had found two bars willing to let him come on to bartend a few shifts on the weekends, in order to help us make it through the next few weeks before he will start doing some seasonal work for an insurance company. He has also had a pretty promising interview in St. Louis that we are still waiting to hear back about.

In short, God is already making moves, and I am so grateful. He has always provided for us, and we have no reason to doubt that He will continue to do so.

More than ever I am feeling the reality of the "team effort" that is our marriage. I know I am blessed to be a stay at home mom, but have you read this article?? I find this to be so true (not to give myself a pat on the back or anything, but you get the idea) and it has really helped me to start to see the value in what I am doing at home with the kiddos again, because sometimes it's very easy to forget. But now that Pat is working odd hours at bars and working from home trying to find something more permanent, it really is a blessing that I am able to be at home taking care of our kiddos, and to be flexible enough that he is able to do whatever he feels he needs to do.

I know that our ideas about the way we want to live our life, and our reliance on God to carry us through this season may not make sense to a lot of people. I trust that we can live simply, and that we don't need much other than a lot of grace, and to have our basic needs met. My husband is my hero, and even more so right now I am realizing just how much he does for our family. I feel strangely hopeful about it all, and I am looking forward to seeing what God has in store for us.

On a slightly related note, I have once again dubbed this Christmas a "handmade" Christmas, in part because money is tight, but mostly because I have become a certified craftaholic, and whenever my kids are asleep or otherwise occupied, I can be found with my out of control bag of felt scraps and embroidery thread working on some project or other, and I am hoping to start sharing some of those projects here, just for fun. Stay tuned!