Separation Agreement (With Children) was the title of the first page. A change I never saw coming after 20 years of marriage.
Setting aside the thick stack of legal documents, I opened up the worn, spiral bound notebook they were tucked inside and looked at the dollar figures and budget categories written in blue ink.
After all these years, the questions and the unknowns still felt fresh in my mind. How was I going to provide for myself and my children - even with financial help? Where was I going to live? Where would I work? Scenario after scenario was thought through on those pages.
My future looked bleak and impossible on paper.
But my God is the God of the impossible. That notebook, with all my ifs, ands, or buts, now serves as a testimony of God’s love, faithfulness, and miraculous provision. The promises of Deuteronomy 31:8 were no longer words on the page of my Bible; they were my life experiences.
“The LORD himself goes before you and will be with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged."
A place to live was provided without any seeking or searching on my part. Not one, but two part-time positions became available in the same Christian school I had worked in five years prior. And, to this day, the only explanation for my budget functioning “in the black” is God. He made it all work together ... even if I could never prove it on paper.
The Lord went before me and had a plan for every need I'd thought of as well as every unforeseen need.
It is through His faithfulness that my faith has increased.
Are you faced with a new beginning you didn’t plan? One you didn’t see coming?
A foundational truth I stand on without wavering is that God is faithful in every fresh start and new beginning - whether planned or unplanned.
We no longer need to be crippled by the fear of the unknown because when we are blind-sided, God is not.
When all we can manage to think or say is, “I don’t know,” our hearts can rest in the assurance He does know.
God’s faithfulness is unwavering, and He will never disappoint. So, settle in, allowing Him to carry you into the fresh start He's prepared with you in mind.