God is good…

God is good and he continues to remind me how good he is.

We have been living in Southern California for quite some time now and in the military, it is very rare that we stay in one place for longer than 3 years. My husband and I look back at the time we spent here and we are able to say that we are truly blessed.

We were able to settle in and get comfortable here in California. We made new friends, we have become regular customers at our favorite restaurants, where they know us by name. I was able to build a strong relationship and bond with my doctors, my massage therapist, my pet groomers and more. This place was definitely home away from home.

Southern California treated us well. The people here are friendly and laid back which I am used to because I was born and raised on the island of Mau’i. We liked living out here because it was so close to my family. It is a 4.5 hour drive/45 minute flight to Las Vegas to see my mom and my sister, and a 9 hour drive/ 1 hour flight to San Jose to see my dad.

The weather here is by far, the best. It is definitely my perfect mix between the humid Hawai’i weather and the dry heat of Las Vegas. I couldn’t have asked for a better place to live for the past 6 years.

In June of last year, 2016, we were under the assumption that we would be moving to our next duty station in August of this year, 2017. Now, as to where was a mystery. We laid out three places that we would love to get stationed at and started telling our family and friends that it would be our last year here in California. Not only that, but making sure that Thanksgiving and Christmas of 2016 was a very memorable one.

We knew that we wouldn’t be able to find out for sure where and when we were moving, so we waited patiently until March/April of this year to find out. Well, that answer never came until June. I still remember that day my husband came home to tell me………..

Before moving on to tell you that part of the story, let me start by telling you how in my mind, I had already prepared myself to get ready to move and be away from my family by September/October 2017. I told my family that we would not be here to celebrate Thanksgiving or Christmas with them. I also mentioned to my boss that I will be leaving before the end of the year and that we would have to prepare to train someone to take my position as Lead Administrative Assistant. (Mind you, I was thrilled to know I only had to put up with working at my job for at least 6 more months).

So…. let me take you on this roller coaster ride…..

I have been going through a lot at my job and having to deal with a lot of disrespect from my boss. I can strongly say that I am overworked and underpaid, not to mention under appreciated. The light at the end of my tunnel was that we were moving soon and I only had to deal with this BS for a few more months.

I remember this day like it was just yesterday. I came home from work, stressed out and ready to quit. I waited at home for my husband so that I could let out my frustrations and vent to him about my day.

He came home, sat down and asked what was wrong. I was so frustrated and just emotionally drained from work that I started yelling (not at him but at the situation). I had bottled up so much inside that I finally blew up and lost it.

My husband didn’t even know where to begin because he had some news to add to that. Usually my husband would comfort me and tell me that everything will be okay but this time he didn’t, which made me worry……..

He then proceeded to say…. well I don’t want to keep this from you but I also don’t want to add to the stress but I have some news to tell you…….. We are NOT moving until next June of 2018.

My heart stopped. My jaw dropped. My anger became sadness. My frustration bled out into tears. I gave my husband the most evilest look I could ever give him because at this point I knew that I was hoping that it was a joke.

Frustrated and stressed out from work, this added to it. I had a 2 week vacation coming up in a few days which couldn’t come at a more perfect time. I knew I needed a break from work but didn’t think that I would need a break from life. My husband felt so bad to come home with that news because he knew how excited I was to move and how much I was looking forward to it.

I don’t even remember when was the last time I cried that hard. I didn’t even realize how much it was going to affect me. I was surprised that the news struck me that hard that I was in a funk for the next few days. Everyone that is close to me could feel the mood change and the attitude I had because of it. It was depressing.

I went on my two week vacation and took that time to relax and refresh my mind. I needed to refuel. I needed to reflect on my life and see that the reason I reacted that way is because of my high expectations of moving.

I returned home with a better outlook on the situation. I accepted the fact that we were going to be in California for another year. I told myself that I will make the most of the next year and enjoy more time with my family. I was able to turn the negative news into a more positive one. I replayed in my head what my husband kept saying that night. He said, “God has a plan and it will make sense when we get there.”

I told my friends, my family and even my boss that I have a whole year left here and I wanted to make the most of it. I sat down with my boss and expressed all of my frustrations with work to try to come to common ground so that I could either enjoy the next year with the company or move on to another. I changed my mind set and kept it moving because there is a reason God is making us stay.

Three weeks later…………..

It is now the end of June, and my husband comes home from work with this look on his face. He didn’t even know where or how to begin to tell me the news that he just found out. I sat down and asked him what was wrong. He says………. “God is good.” I said, “yes I know, but what’s wrong?”

He says, “all you had to do was accept his plan, show that you have faith, trust him and he will bless you.” Again, I looked at him and said, “okay honey, I know that but what is it?” (At this point, I was losing patience with him lol).

My husband says, “we are moving…. we are moving in January, for sure this time!” I stood up, walked away, came back, put one hand up, pointed my finger at him, other hand on my hip and said, “DONT PLAY WITH ME! Tell me you’re joking….” He promised and showed me the papers that we are set to go. Of course, I started crying while praising my Lord of this blessing.

The emotional roller coaster that he put us on was our test. God will test your faith at times to make sure that you are still loyal to him. My husband and I are true believers that God is real. God has a plan. He will always deliver but on his time. He will show you how good he is to those that believe.

We trust his word, we serve our God and have faith in all that he does. It wasn’t until I completely had let go of my frustrations and stress. I needed to take a deep breath and forget all of my worries and leave it all in his hands, and when I did that…. he delivered our blessing.

I know that some of you do not believe in God, which is your decision. But for me and my house, we trust our Lord and this is my story on why we continue to serve him. It is stories like this that we have, continuously over 8 years, that we are able to say that God is good….. ALL THE TIME.

Whether it is having faith in the Lord, or just having faith, believe that everything happens for a reason. Everything that you go through, has a purpose and meaning behind it. It will all make sense when you get there and you will be able to look back and tell yourself, “that is the reason why I had to do that, or why that happened”.