By Shayla McAnly 
Sometimes we forget that the Lord can do the impossible. This story is to remind me not to forget the ways He can work it out even when I can’t fathom it.
My husband was working two jobs, and I was working part-time and keeping our two young kiddos home. Through strict budgeting we made it work, but it wasn’t a way we wanted to live long-term. We prayed for His provision in our finances and continued to seek a way out.
We decided to list our house in an effort to move to a cheaper home in a different part of town. Within a month, we were under contract and moving in with his parents. My husband was then called and offered a job out of the blue. It was for a position he had interviewed for months prior, but it was offered to another candidate. Due to unforeseen circumstances, the applicant who had received the job was leaving for another opportunity. We were surprised with the unexpected offer and could not have been more thrilled, especially after learning that the opportunity could likely be remote allowing me to leave my part-time position and finally put an end to the weekly childcare dilemma.
Our songs of praise took a pause when my husband received another call that the job opportunity would not be remote but hybrid, requiring him to report to headquarters two to three days a week. To take this opportunity now, we’d have to move across the country. While we considered walking away, we leaned in and prayed for wisdom. Ultimately we felt this was the way the Lord had chosen to provide, and we’d proceed with the job and relocation. What are the odds that our house was already scheduled to close in a few weeks?
One thing after another fell into place, and we connected with a realtor who shared our Christian faith and put an offer on a house. Unbeknownst to us, the home constructed in the 1980s was beginning to settle . . . on top of a trash pit. The driveway caved in only a few days after our offer. Praise the Lord for the due diligence process. After seeing the home in person and receiving a less-than-desirable inspection, we withdrew our offer.
Without much time to really let it all sink in, no pun intended, our realtor asked us if we’d be interested in seeing an open house while we were in town. At this point, we were feeling pretty discouraged.
Thankfully, the second home we saw that day ended up being a good fit for our family, and we were able to purchase the home. Weeks passed and my husband began his cross-country road trip with some of our belongings when he received another unexpected call. This time from our realtor who explained that some neighbors noticed water leaking from our new house. A deep freeze that winter had burst a pipe in our empty home. Flooding started on the top floor and seeped down to the basement.
With heavy hearts, we arrived at our new home to meet the restoration team. They were estimating the damage would cost about $100,000 in repairs. Our homeowner’s insurance did not cover our repair costs. Our claim was denied. We cried out to the Lord.
The day we received this news, my husband’s new boss offered to spend the weekend hanging drywall. He encouraged us to apply for a hardship scholarship through the company. We received the scholarship plus a matching grant. Praise God!
We had savings and were able to cash out my husband’s company stocks but still, we were short. But God showed up again. We received two extremely generous, completely unexpected checks in the mail from our family. Our new neighbors helped us move everything we owned from the moving trailer to our garage and through various connections from our realtor and lots of time seeking bids, we lined up contractors that completed the work at a fraction of what we originally expected to spend.
Three months later, we sat in our home with new walls, new paint, new floors, new carpet completely astounded by the ways the Lord moved exceedingly and abundantly beyond what we could ask or think. God commanded the Israelites who wandered through the desert for 40 years to be careful not to forget all that He had done. So that’s my prayer too, Lord, please let me not forget that you are the Lord who provides.
“Only be careful, and watch yourselves closely so that you do not forget the things your eyes have seen or let them fade from your heart as long as you live. Teach them to your children and to their children after them. ” (Deuteronomy 4:9)
by Kelli Bachara 
by Brynn Burger 
by Lauren Panoff 
