on-going Tender Mercies

So...the next day...after my test to see if I would trust the Lord... I get a call from the owner of Aspire Design, a subcontractor I worked with at SunCor for the past seven years and the owner of the home we are currently renting at Avimor.  He was asking about the prospects of construction starting again at Avimor and explained how he just had to let go of a couple key employees due to personal issues.  I half-jokingly suggested that he should hire me to replace them.  Then he got serious and asked if I was sincerely interested in working for him.  Aspire Design has grown in two years to be the nation's largest home remodeling company and that division of the company only repairs bank-owned homes.  They've been growing and were needing people.  He said he'd talk it over with a couple key members of his staff and would be back with me.

A few days later he called back and offered me the job of a regional manager over the east coast and asked if I would accompany him on a trip to Baltimore to get a feel for the job.  I flew out and met him there the very next day.  The job would require constant weekly travel which I knew would be a challenge. When I got back from Baltimore, Jessica and I went to the Boise Temple to make sure we were making decisions under the influence of the Spirit and not out of desperation.  We felt good about the job and we accepted the position.  Althought we felt good about taking the position, my gut wrenched into knots knowing that I would be away from my family a lot. 

I started traveling for 10 days at a time and then coming home for four days.  I did this through the first half of December.  The appeal of travel quickly wore off and life on the road and nights in hotels had no more luster, plus I was getting fatter.  The extra burden on Jessica of being a single mother was heavy.  I felt useless in my family and in the Church.  The job was not particularly difficult, nor fulfilling.  I was also lonely and bored on the road, but I was happy to have a steady income. 

I did enjoy visiting random wards in the south and enjoyed fellowshipping with the saints.  People in the south are just kindly folks who are so welcoming.  I was offered meals and a place to sleep at every turn and was able to visit some old friends in Greenville, SC where we lived right out of BYU.  One day in the Roanoke, Virgina 1st Ward, I saw listed on the program the Relief Society President by the name of Victoria Schwendiman. We have a Schwendiman family in our Eagle, Idaho 7th Ward, so I just had to ask if they were related.  I asked a very friendly elderly man who was chatting me up (who turned out to be the Stake Patriarch) if he could point out the Schwendiman family to me.  He did I and went over and met them.  He turned out to be the brother of my Schwendiman's.  I love discovering the smallness of the world!

My last trip to the east coast was a tough one.  The kids were giving Jessica a particular hard time and I had some contractors making me work extra hard for my money.  The move back east was still really tentative as we were waiting for a potential contract to go through in Baltimore which would require us to live near there, or if we should proceed to find a place in the Raleigh, NC area.  Not knowing where we would be moving was particularly distressing to Jessica who was trying to coordinate moving plans.  I was having a hard and strange day (where three of my contractors almost killed themselves with carbon monoxide poisoning due to using space heaters incorrectly) when I got an email from the head of our repair division asking about getting referrals for a position with the company in Salt Lake.  Again half-jokingly due to my rough day, I emailed back that maybe I should apply for the position.  Seconds later, he called me on the phone.  He knew I was kinda joking, but my email had triggered in his mind that the position would be perfect for a guy with my skill set and charming personality (he didn't really say that last part.)  If I was sincerely interested, he would talk to the owner of Aspire and see if they could make it happen.  He and the owner called me back a few minutes later.  Neither could explain the position very well, but it was an important role in the company as a liason to our main client, one were I would actually office in the office of the client and use their computer systems.  After a brief phone call to my shocked wife, we agreed to take the job in Salt Lake, still not really knowing what the job would be like.

Well, I just got back from Salt Lake before Christmas from a week being trained for my new role.  Turns out, the job is right up my alley, is exciting and fulfilling, and I work with great people.  This job allows me to be at home with my family.  Jessica flew down and was able to find a home for us to rent in Bountiful with little difficulty.  Things have just really started coming together. 

So, to recap, I got a job offer the day after a spiritual test...the job came with one gut wrenching challenge of being away from my family...that challenge has now been removed from out path.  We are so deeply grateful and acknowledge the Lord's hand in it.  He does open the windows of heaven and pours out blessings.  The adversity he allows us to struggle through can increase our faith in Him if we choose to act in faith and trust Him.  (I'm glad we studied the Old Testament this year, which has several repeating and related themes)

I have felt that my struggles in 2010 were heavy burdens and challenging.  They were faith promoting for me and my family certainly, but the Lord has a way of reminding us that our burdens can't even compare to those of others, especially those of Him who suffered below all things.  Recently in our Eagle, Idaho 7th Ward, we have been witness to faith promoting challenges which are heavier to bear than our own.  Our home teacher just passed away on the 23rd.  He wasn't much older than me.  A few months ago he was diagnosed with cancer and began treatment, but his cancer was a vicious one that took over his body quickly.  He leaves behind a wife and four children from a 17 year old stud of a righteous young man to a baby of just a few months.  We also had a girl in the ward who is a junior or senior in highschool from a wonderful family we just love...she just had surgery to remove a brain tumor on the same day the other brother passed away.  It was reported today that the tumor was benign and she should have a full recovery.  Many prayers and fasts have been given for both of these beloved families and miracles have indeed happened.  We now enter 2011 with increased faith and gratitude.  Adversity will be life's constant test and we pray to have the strength to endure it well.  May we all be so blessed.