God Knows My Future

Wow. I just need to share how God has recently watched over Owen and I.

Almost one year ago to the day, we had our home inspection for the house we are now living in. One of the issues that came up was that the roof needed repair (it was obvious even to my untrained eye). After going back and forth with the former homeowners (who were going through a divorce), we decided to settle on an amount, rather than have him replace the roof. The amount we settled on was far less than it would cost to replace the roof, but on the side of the house was a pallet of shingles. Owen and I thought that was part of the deal, that we would receive the shingles as well as the money to pay for the labor. When we moved into the house, the former homeowner took the shingles. We were annoyed, but because of the difficulty we had with this man, we had a sense to just let it go (we DID get the money for the labor at closing, by the way).

Throughout the year at different times, I've wondered if we should have pursued it. Our roof remains in need of repair, not in an emergent way, but it needs to be done soon. At times, I doubted we made the right decision to let it go, and thought we were fools. Then yesterday it was confirmed that we made the right decision. Here is what happened.

When I got home from a visit with my friend, there was a business card of a detective from a nearby city. Gulp. My mind immediately thought the worst - was a relative dead over there and they were notifying me? Was my husband involved in something shady (sorry honey, my mind went there!)? Did I do something wrong? I called, and only got the detective's voice mail. I called my husband, who immediately thought the detective had the wrong house, and really wanted our neighbor. You see our neighbor is a principal at a school for troubled teens in that city. Yup, that must be it. I walked over there (he was home because it was Veteran's Day). The detective had talked to him, but it was us in fact he wanted. Gulp again. Thankfully because the detective talked to our neighbor, we were able to get a heads up. This morning I received my return call from the detective, and it is actually the former owner he is looking for. Phew (for us, not for him)!

Remember those shingles we thought we were going to get? Turns out they were stolen. And these shingles weren't the only ones stolen. Thousands, upon thousands of dollars worth of shingles were stolen. The cousin of the former owner was the yardman for a roofing supply company, and would steal shingles and do jobs on the side, charging the full price of a roof repair/replacement. Because he was stealing the materials, he made quite a bit of money off these side jobs. Can you imagine?

Here is where the Lord was looking out for us, His children. The detective told me that had we kept those shingles, or had those shingles been put on our house, there would have been a lien on our house! Yes, we would have had legal recourse to sue the former owner, but that would have cost us money, time and aggravation. That sense we had last winter, to not pursue getting those shingles back, we now feel was clearly from the Lord.

First, I am so thankful that God takes care of details like that for me. When answers aren't coming the way I think is best, I need to sit back, and rest in God's care, knowing that he is orchestrating my life for me. I only know what the past was, and what is in front of my face, but I don't know what my future holds. God does, thankfully! Second, this makes me realize, that that small voice I hear inside could very well be from the Lord, and I need to give attention to it more often.

Thank you Jesus!