Our Testimony of God's Faithfulness

     As 2010 approached, it was for us, a new year that was filled with uncertainty and fear.  For the first time in our lives we were facing a future without the security of a full time job and no church that we could call home.  We had just given up the business we had poured our heart and soul into over the past 4 years and now we were facing the prospect of starting all over again with a new commercial property management business and one client.   In addition to this, we had just lost our best friends of eight years over a silly 30 second argument and we had just decided to leave the church we had called home for the past nine years .  2009 had been a year of turmoil, stress, and pain, and 2010 did not show any promise that things were going to get better.  In the previous six months, we had lost our home, our business, our friends, our church and a good portion of our family were no longer speaking to us.   As we faced the new year we were in a place in our lives where the only thing we could do was to fall on our knees and pray.

A God of Miracles

    We knew God would answer prayer because He had just recently performed a miracle with what we believe was His response to our prayers.  Karen, our accountant, and her husband, Todd, had tried and tried to have a child.   In the past several years, they had tried fertility drugs and they had conceived a baby girl.  Karen gave birth to the baby the previous year but the baby girl died at delivery.  They had all but given up on trying to have a baby and were in the process of adopting a child.   When Susan and I heard their story we started praying earnestly every morning that God would bring Todd and Karen a baby.  We believed that God would answer our prayer and we never missed a day without making our request known to Him.   We were in the last month of transitioning out of our business when Karen called Susan and I into my office and told us that she was pregnant.   Tears of joy filled our eyes and then we all laughed at the knowledge that God had answered our prayers.  It was then that we told Karen that we had been praying for her and Todd and how we just knew in our hearts that the Lord would bring them a child.  This was truly a miracle and this event would be the source of our strength and faith as we faced the new year.

A Test of Faith

Our joy turned to fear as we were awakened early one morning by a call from our client's daughter that one of the commercial buildings we manage had water pouring out of the front doors.  It was December and the temperatures had dipped down to -8 degrees and had stayed in negative numbers for several days.  This caused a portion of fire sprinkler pipe in the building to burst which flooded the 20,000 square foot, two story building.   When I arrived at the building I saw a torrent of water at least 3 inches deep pouring out of the front doors of the building.  Water was pouring out of the seams in the upstairs windows and I felt like I was living in a nightmare in which I couldn't wake up.    I contacted the insurance company and a disaster clean up company and we would spend the next several months wondering if the insurance company would pay for the damages and if the property owner would let us continue to manage his properties.   

    As we moved into January things were looking very uncertain for our new commercial property management business so I began to look for other jobs.  I updated my resume and submitted applications with my former employer as well as to online businesses like Monster.com, etc.   Although I was confident that I could get a job with my previous employer, I was turned down with every application I submitted.   I didn't understand why this was happening.  Susan and I continued to pray and asked God to help us and to provide a direction.  What were supposed to do?  

 

God Responds to Prayer

It was mid January when we found out that Susan's dad, Joe, had been placed in a life care facility in California and that he was not doing well.   We drove to California with Kathy, Mary (Susan's sisters) and Noah (Mary's son) and met with Susan's brother, Daniel.   While we were in California, Daniel had discovered that the facility was actually over medicating Joe.  When his medication was corrected, Joe seemed to be doing better.  It was then that we all decided that Daniel would stay with Joe another week or so and try to get him well enough to fly up to Idaho where he would stay with us.   We were the only logical option since we had a single level home with space for Joe and we now worked from home which would allow us to provide the care that Joe needed.    Susan and I felt blessed to be able to take care of Joe in our house but at the same time we began to worry since we still had limited income and it looked like we would be taking care of Joe in our house for the unforeseen future.   We contacted hospice and they provided us with a hospital bed, a wheelchair, and everything else Joe would need.   Danny and Joe flew to Boise the first week of February and we began the process of helping Joe to get accustomed to his new home.

We soon found out that being full time caretakers was exactly that; full time! Joe's care was 24 hours per day and seven days per week.   We still felt blessed to have him living with us and I was able to take him fishing to the local ponds on several occasions.   We cooked breakfast, lunch and dinner for Joe and we soon realized how blessed we really were.  We realized that we never would have been able to take care of Joe if we were still in our old business.  As it was, we had no office and worked from home so our situation was perfect for taking care of Susan's dad. 

 We could see how the Lord was working in our lives and could see (now) that He had actually answered our prayer when we had asked to get out of our old business.   We never thought it would be possible to leave the business we were so wrapped up in, but the Lord made it happen.   The Lord also provided us with enough income to take care of Joe, pay our rent, make our car payments, and pay our utilities.  As we needed money, it seemed like I would get a call from someone to sell their house for them or I would get commission from a new lease on a commercial business.  I was even able to buy a work truck and pay cash for it.

Leaning On The Everlasting Arms

We were able to spend real quality time with Joe in the four months that he lived with us.  We played poker with him, took him fishing, told jokes, watched boxing and fishing on television.  He was able to tell us stories of the Korean war and of his child hood.    The greatest blessing of all was on the day that Joe prayed with Susan to accept Jesus Christ as his Savior.   This happened in the final days of Joe's life and we believe that even though Joe already knew the Lord,  we were at his bedside to reassure him that his faith in Christ was all he needed.   After Joe and Susan prayed, Joe was much more peaceful and rested until he went to be with the Lord a few days later on May 22, 2010.  This was when we realized how truly blessed we were.   It was also on this day that the Lord brought to me a new song, "Move Up To Higher Ground" with words that would give us strength, comfort, and direction in the months ahead:

"When life is bringing you pain, and you've had too much rain,
Nothin' but black clouds and it's pouring down,
When you've had enough and you don't wanna drown,
Move up to higher ground..."

Another blessing was how my real estate and commercial leasing business seemed to be prospering in a market that was publically pronounced as not very good .  I was able to go back to school to get my broker's license which required  many hours of classes followed by exams and the Lord had given me the time and money to complete the required classes.   I had not completed all the required courses but I felt compelled to take the State and Federal exam on July 15, 2010 and I was able to pass BOTH exams on my first try (truly a blessing from the Lord!)   By the end of August I had sold four residential properties and helped a client to purchase his (and my) first commercial property.  I was able to finish the last required course and got my broker's license on August 6, 2010.

His Blessings Abound

 The Lord began pouring blessing on us to the point where we were almost overwhelmed.  Through Him, I was able to help my client purchase a $1 million dollar building which would be the new business location for one of my tenants.   This equated to a deal worth well over $4 million dollars for my client and we would be the recipient of a large payout of commissions which would continue into 2011.   I look back at this deal and it is easy to see that only through God was this possible.   Keep in mind that I closed my first commercial deal in August and by the end of the year I had almost $5 million dollars in sales (most of that in commercial properties and leases).  We had been on the verge of bankruptcy and now it looked like we would be able to pay our creditors.    I soon found myself in a very nice executive suite in a Class A building to use as my real estate office and act as the building on site manager.  My client had purchased the office building even after being told (by other experienced commercial brokers) that it was a very uncertain investment in the current economy.   After owning the building for just over 4 months, the Lord had brought business to us and we had more than 60 percent of the executive suites filled by the end of the year.  At the same time, new businesses were starting to fill my other vacant buildings. 

God's Amazing Love

If you recall, 2009 had ended with a building being flooded with water after the sprinkler line broke. In late October of 2010, I was approached by a tenant that wanted to lease all 20,000 square feet of this very same building.  (It had been repaired and reconstructed by the insurance company earlier in the year)  The most amazing thing was that God showed us his love and his sense of humor.  We knew without a doubt that this tenant was sent by God!  How?  The tenant was a fire sprinkler installation company!!!

Looking back on 2010, we can honestly tell you (based on firsthand experience) that God's Word is true because He never left us He didn't give up on us.   There were times when we felt like He didn't hear our cries for help and  those were the times when we sought Him out so we could hear His voice and feel His presence.  As His Word says, " Wait on the LORD: be of good COURAGE, and he shall strengthen your heart: wait, I say, on the LORD."

 

Amen.