Thanks for March

"Give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you."-1 Thessalonians 5:18

Yesterday the kids were playing outside in the water when they suddenly ran inside and said there was a bee and they were going to stay inside. They wanted to go back out and play, but they were afraid. Then I heard Faith say, "Come on, Brady. Don't let that bee take away your joy!"

March is usually my favorite month, but not this year. This March has been a discouraging month for us, and we're really trying to not let it take away our joy. Brady didn't get into Brushy Creek, where Faith goes to school. We did all the right things to get him in, so it was surprising to get that news. They were really excited to be in school together and Faith would always talk about how she would get to wait with him to get picked up at the end of the day. She told him all about kindergarten and the teachers he might have. When we visited her, he would point out the kindergarten class rooms and playground, which Kasey always referred to as Brady's cage. Faith and Brady are so close. Now, he's going to go to a different school. I'm not sure how that will work, but I know it will.

The same time we were going through the school situation, an opportunity came up for Jason at work. The kind of opportunity for which we had been waiting for a long time. He was interviewed for an executive position at a different branch. We had to wait longer than we wanted to to find out if he got the job. It seemed like a great opportunity for our family, what we had already been waiting so long for. It was so close between him and another guy. The other guy got it. I received  the phone call from Jason while my parents were visiting. They didn't know any of this was going on. I only told one person, and Jason told a few others. The other guy had just moved to town because his wife got a job in Greenville. I'm happy that it worked out so well for them. There's another opportunity on the horizon, but it's a way off and it means more waiting.

We are disappointed that these things have not worked out, but thankful God knows what's best for us. We would have chosen differently and we would have been wrong. Dealing with the stress this past month has been extremely difficult. Sometimes God lets us look back and see what He was doing, and sometimes He just wants us to trust Him. Some of our circumstances are pleasant and some are not, but we are commanded to be thankful in ALL circumstances. I'm finding reasons to be thankful that Brady is going to a different school, that Jason didn't get the job and that we have more waiting to do.