In our desperate place, we saw a miracle.
The day of his last seizure, we called in reinforcements for help. Adrian's sister Leona drove down from Delaware to be with us for the weekend, so I could go in to work. I only had one weekend off a month at the time.
In the following weeks my mom and Ade's mom took turns coming down and even my youngest brother. It wasn't just a matter of safety for the girls and Adrian to have someone there, he was physically and mentally incapable of caring for them as the effects of the seizure lingered.
But how long could we rely on family driving 3 or 4 hours to stay with us? We had already been through the search for childcare six months earlier and knew that was no option. What could we do? Again, I felt brief twinges of temptation just to be irresponsible and walk away from the home, my job, and go hide in my mom's house and make the government support us...but I was never serious about this.
I did not have to question too long. In a matter of weeks, three major steps came together in miraculous fashion.
1. The New Job
Exactly one week after Adrian's seizure, I got a very unexpected phone call. I never saw it coming."Hello, is this Julleanna?" a man's voice says.
"Yes..."
"This might seem strange that I'm calling, but I just wanted to ask you about something." He proceeded to tell me his name and that he owns a custom home building company in Greenwood, Del. He knew my Dad and wondered if I'd ever be interested in stopping to talk sometime when I was in town. The company is growing and they are looking for a good sales person.
Me. "Okay, thanks for calling, I'll let you know."
I hung up and my heart started pounding. Seriously. I could feel it. This was too strange. Or was it? If he had called two weeks before, I would barely have acknowledged it. But right now, at this time, it felt like much more than coincidence.
I called him back later with a series of questions. His answers satisfied me enough to send over my resume and schedule a quick trip back to Delaware and meet in person.
The meeting went well, very well. They were a small company, but they had a great foundation and big plans for the future. I agreed to nothing at that point but was very intrigued.
2. The New Home
We took a tour of their model home, where I would often work if I joined them, and I was impressed. Then, he showed me a cute ranch home under construction that they were trying to sell. It was next to the model, 3 bedrooms and 2 baths with less than 1700 s.f. They'd had interest but no contract had worked out.Very interesting. I had to ask. "Is there any chance that you'd consider renting this out? If we had a place lined up for us to move into to, it would make my decision to take this job much easier..."
He had not considered it, but would give it some thought. We left that meeting mutually intrigued by the prospect of me joining their team in a sales and marketing role, but it would come down to whether it would make financial sense for me and my family.
I took this picture of the kitchen in the home for sale as we walked through it.
3. The New Tenants
Doors seemed to be opening very fast. But what about our home that we had just bought? I had no desire to list it already and go through the effort of trying to sell.Well, let me just take a stab in the dark and put it on Craig's List online to see if anyone would rent it for a couple hundred a month more than our mortgage. The day after posting it, I had 3 leads and 2 appts to show the home.
The first family was an ideal fit. Recent transfers to the area with a new job, loved our home and hoping for long-term lease.
Views from our front and back door in Va. when a late winter storm hit
the end of March, the time we were deciding to move.
The Realization of a Miracle
This all seemed wonderful but was it really what we were supposed to do?
One morning I woke up early thinking and praying about it. I picked up my Bible in hopes that I could just open it up and find an answer. Honestly, I had not read it much lately, but this day I got a more clear answer than I'd seen in a loooooong time.
I opened to II Corinthians 6:2
For he says, "In the time of my favor I heard you, and in the day of salvation I helped you."
I tell you, now is the time of God's favor, now is the day of salvation.
Wow.
By the end of March, I had a great job offer that included the option to rent the new home next door to the model, which is also only 10 minutes from both of our parents! We signed a lease with tenants on our current home, and made plans to move by the end of April.
The job change has been a great thing for us and the sales are coming in at a good pace. Plus, I get two weekends off a month now! We've loved having the support of family close by, and aside from a minor issue or two, the renters have been great.
I call this a MIRACLE. It's way more than coincidence, and it truly all came together with little effort on our part. Praise the Lord!
Turns out, it was a two-way miracle. My boss called me that day after interviewing 11 people and coming up empty for the right fit. He was desperate enough to take a chance and call me that day. I think it's working out for them too ;)
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