Out of the Corridor

      In early March a small light appeared at the end of our seemingly endless tunnel.  As we moved through March and into April, that light gradually grew brighter until on April 11th we suddenly found ourselves out of the corridor.  Thirteen months of prayer were answered in the form of a job offer from Thomasbuilt Bus in High Point, NC!  Mark accepted, we left for a week at the beach and upon our return, Mark started work on April 25th.  Three weeks into this job, the reality of employment is actually beginning to settle upon us.  Standing on the other side of those long months of unemployment, it feels like we've been given a new set of glasses that allows us to view those months very differently.  Not being chosen for various jobs brought such disappointment to us.  Now we are filled with gratitude.  We are glad we didn't get that job that would have taken us to Nashville; we are glad we didn't say yes to a job offer in Denver; we are glad for the expected job offer that didn't materialize in February.  This job, this company, this place was worth the wait.  Closed doors were just pushing us towards the right door.  Seeming rejection was protection.  Momentary disappointment was preparing us for future joy. 
     All this underscores for me the importance of vision, of seeing things rightly.  I so easily rely on my present circumstances, what I see right in front of me.  But faith is like a pair of spiritual lens that allow you to see beyond.  Faith is believing that God is still writing your story, even when it seems like you'll never move out of present difficulty and pain.  Faith is believing that there is a bigger reality, even when I live with unanswered questions and when God seems silent.  It is what the apostle Paul so eloquently speaks of when he writes, "Therefore we do not lose heart.  Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day.  For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all.  So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen.  For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal." (2 Corinthians 4:16-18)
    Another viewpoint on the corridor:  with every hardship there is a blessing.  We experienced financial, emotional, vocational and spiritual hardship.  But, there was the blessing of having Mark involved in every day life.  There was the blessing of moving at a slower pace and having lots of quality family time.  There was the blessing of being so desperate for God, that we clearly saw His daily provision.  There was the blessing of depending on others and being deeply cared for.    
    And in the ironic way that God so often works, we now experience new challenges with the blessing of a job.  The very lessons we learned in the corridor we need in this new place.  We need that spiritual vision to look beyond big demands and tiring days.  We need to see the blessings in the midst of hard days.  We still need to live desperate for God and inviting Him into ordinary days.  Every day we need to embrace the bigger story:  that our momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all.