Every victory is preceded by struggles.

If there’s one biblical verse that I cling to in times of trial, it’s 1 Thessalonians 5:18, which says "give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus." Now it doesn’t say be thankful for adverse circumstances. But in those times of trial give thanks because the Lord our God is with us.

Back in July when I was fired given “Transition Employment” at my last full-time job, it really threw things into a flux. And that came on the heels of the IRS informing us that they were looking to “adjust” our 2005 & 2006 tax returns. You see, it was right around that time when my wife and I had decided to explore adopting a child. We were just getting ready to initiate that procedure when our challenges arose. Yeah, adoption agencies are kind of funny about prospective parents being out of work or investigated by the IRS. Needless to say, the adoption endeavor was put on hold indefinitely. And there was the wrinkle. We believed that said endeavor was put on our hearts by God. And as such, we knew He would provide the wherewithal to make it happen. I can honestly say that we did not question whether the Lord would fulfill this desire put on our hearts. However, we were genuinely curious how everything would come together in light of such a perilous situation.

In the meantime, I decided to get my credentials out there in an attempt to find another job. Shortly thereafter a guy named Terry found my resume on an employment web site. Terry is one of three partners in a Finance/Accounting recruiting firm.

Because I received a severance package from my employer, I decided to take a few weeks off in late July/early August. Since my wife was already in the midst of having off the entire summer, we spent a lot more quality time together and with family. In fact, we were blessed with beautiful weather every Thursday during that time period. That was the day we went to visit my wife’s parents since it was her Mom’s day off. We enjoyed steak and corn on the cob while sitting out on their back deck. What a blessed time of fellowship we were able to have with our beloved parents!

My overall point is that losing that particular job turned out to be a tremendous blessing. Had I not lost that job, I would have never met Terry the recruiter guy. You see it was Terry who introduced my wife and me to the adoption agency we are now using! He and his wife have two adopted children through CFLS. And we are now so grateful for the precious time we had with Jen’s parents, especially since Dad recently went home to be with the Lord. I’ve also been steadily employed as a consultant since mid-August, so I’m able to show our adoption agency a consistent income. And we successfully answered the IRS inquiry into our 2005-06 tax returns to the point where no adjustments were made!

Another mantra we live by is that out of every adversity lies a seed of an equal or greater benefit. Over the past several months my wife & I have had much adversity. But we can honestly say that the abundant blessings bestowed upon us recently made the difficulties all worthwhile.

For that, we give thanks!!

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