Greater Things Are Yet To Come

We trust God in everything, He's been the way-maker for us. He has his hand in every step of this path we've been journeying down and it's incredibly evident to us. The past months we've been praying about Jacob's job and making a BIG change. My husband has been unhappy in this job since we met. We're tired of being away from each other and realize it's not ever going to be the life we can best serve the Lord with. This has been such a hard season, and God has really taught my man some amazing lessons. He has humbled Jacob deeply and I've watched God do a mighty work in his heart. Even though it was at times hard to witness, I praise God for teaching him patience, contentment, and quiet trust. The harder part was that he didn't really know what he was going to do next. He prayed about his passions, met with men who encouraged him and helped him to trust in God's perfect timing. He waited on the Lord, even though his soul was aching and all he wanted was to be here with me, especially as we suffered with our losses. The Lord led him one day to think about a path that really excited him. Let me digress for those that don't know him personally. My husband is a dreamer, he often comes up with these crazy ideas about where we should go or what we should do. Somedays it's buying a ranch and other times moving to California. It's hard for this type A, color-between-the-lines girl. I didn't know how it would shake out, if it would be another "pipe dream." I think I'm learning that part of being "one" is seeing life through each other's eyes, daring each other to dream big in God's plan, even if that means we step outside of our own wants and desires and "fairy-tale" dreams.

So we went from looking at houses to buy, to researching schools and programs. We moved into an apartment back in the city short-term and asked God to be God and prayed hard. He applied back to UT where he received his business undergrad and specifically applied for the Petroleum Engineering program. During this interim, we both felt strongly that this would be the "next step." I was terrified. I had such a peace about going and Jacob going back to school.....but I let the minor, minute details send me pacing. I really had to let a lot of my selfish desires go. My desire to settle in a home...the "white picket fence" dream. My desire to stop working. My desire to be here in Houston, where it's comfortable...we have our families 30 minutes away, our friends, our incredible church where I've been for the last six years, work just around the corner. "Everyone else gets to do that, why not me?" Ugliness. I really struggle with comparing myself to other people, probably one of my greatest struggles. I have this idea in my head of where we should be and what we should be doing. I'm 28 for crying out loud.....my life is almost over!! I'm about to be on the upswing to 50 and I have fine-lines forming and bones that creak! I'm only joking, but seriously.

I've had a lot of time to reflect, we've been married 1 yr and nine months and I've noticed a recurring theme. God isn't letting us be comfortable. He's just not. That doesn't make him mean, that makes him God. He's got a work to do in us, and he knows comfortable is complacency. That's a hard truth for me. Does this mean Jacob and I are always going to be going through trials the rest of out lives? No, but it means that he does have something planned for us, something he's doing in us, so he can then do something through us. Do I wish it was different? No. Maybe. Every once in a while(enter smiley face emoticon here). I do know that he knows best and so I climb back up on the Potter's wheel, because I still have quite a few rough edges.

Well, God is good. Jacob has been accepted into the Petroleum Engineering program at UT and we're moving to Austin in less than two months. Yikes. It is hard, I am very excited and sad too. There is much here that even two and a half hours of distance will change. Yet, we know that God isn't "sending us out" just for Jacob to go back to school and get a degree, but because he has purpose for our lives in Austin. Great purpose, I believe. Lots and lots of prayers for us as we iron out all the details, living situation, me working remotely, moving, financial aid for tuition.

"Remember how the Lord your God led you all the way in the desert these 40 years, to humble you and to test you in order to know what was in your heart. He humbled you, causing you to hunger and then feeding you with manna, which neither you or your fathers had known, to teach you that man does not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of the Lord. For the Lord God is bringing you into a good land----a land with streams and pools of water, with springs flowing in the valleys and hills; a land with wheat and barley, vines and fig trees, pomegranates, olive oil and honey, a land where bread will not be scare and you will lack nothing." Deut 8:2-3; 7-9

Can you imagine the Israelites excitement as they are waiting to cross into the promised land? The land of promises fulfilled and blessings abundant. I can close my eyes and just imagine. Now, we know the "land of the Longhorns" isn't the "promised land", but I believe for the Martins it will be a "good land."