Last week, my Bible Study Fellowship class covered the 7th chapter of John. What struck me most about it, was how in control God is.

John 7:30, NLT~ Then the leaders tried to arrest him; but no one laid a hand on him, because his time had not yet come.

John 7:44, NLT~ Some even wanted him arrested, but no one laid a hand on him.

It made no difference what they wanted to do, or when, they were not in control. I’m sure that frustrated them all to pieces. Perhaps that’s why in response to Nicodemus’s question, John 7:51, NLT~ “Is it legal to convict a man before he is given a hearing?” Rather than answer, the other religious leaders insinuated that he too, along with the temple guards and the crowd at the temple, was ignorant. They said, John 7:52, NLT~ “Are you from Galilee too? Search the Scriptures and see for yourself–no prophet ever comes from Galilee!” Whether they meant The Prophet, or any prophet at all, they were sorely incorrect.

In Isaiah 9:1-7, NLT~ “Nevertheless, that time of darkness and despair will not go on forever. The land of Zebulun and Naphtali will be humbled, but there will be a time in the future when Galilee of the Gentiles, which lies along the road that runs between the Jordan and the sea, will be filled with glory. The people who walk in darkness will see a great light. For those who live in a land of deep darkness, a light will shine. You will enlarge the nation of Israel, and its people will rejoice. They will rejoice before you as people rejoice at the harvest and like warriors dividing the plunder. For you will break the yoke of their slavery and lift the heavy burden from their shoulders. You will break the oppressor’s rod, just as you did when you destroyed the army of Midian. The boots of the warrior and the uniforms bloodstained by war will all be burned. They will be fuel for the fire. For a child is born to us, a son is given to us. The government will rest on his shoulders. And he will be called: Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. His government and its peace will never end. He will rule with fairness and justice from the throne of his ancestor David for all eternity. The passionate commitment of the Lord of Heaven’s Armies will make this happen!”

During the BSF lecture today, the leader said that prophets did indeed come from Galilee. She didn’t say who, so I looked it up. I know nothing about geography and borders through the ages, but every source I read indicates that Jonah was from Galilee. Hosea, Nahum, and even Elijah may have been, although I can’t confirm that.

I got off on a tangent there, but my point is that even though the religious leaders were positively unhinged in their desire to get rid of Jesus, there wasn’t a thing they could do about it. They were not in control, and their timing had nothing to do with how and when events would unfold.

God is in control. All the time, and in every situation. And that comforts me. As the song “Steady” by King and Country goes,

You keep me steady when the sky is falling
And I’ll keep steady after You
I’ll carry on when my strength is failing
Take heart ‘cause You’re with me
So let the stars drop, whatever comes I’ll be ready,
You keep me steady.

Everything that comes is for His glory and our good, so I’ve been told. I believe that. But on December 12, 2011, I began to wonder.

It started in September of that year.

The defense contract that funded Brad’s employment was not renewed. After 20+ years, just like Anika’s father, he was without a job. The negotiations dragged on for two more months, but the writing was on the wall. The contract was not renewed.

My sixteen year old cat, Maxim, died. Since you’re reading this, it’s safe to assume you’ve also read at least some of my books. So it goes without saying that I love my fur family, and that was a devastating loss.

As we prepared to put our house on the market, it seemed that everything that could go wrong, did.

The market was upside down.

The new kitten gave us ringworm. Pandy got the worst of it, and then some. She was bald like a monk. That was kind of funny, she would sit with her head under the desk lamp and her eyes half-closed, like that heat just felt so good to her bald head. It’s good to laugh when we can, and she forgave us. But I’m getting off on a tangent again.

Having a job offer and another job to go to, was good. Moving out of state wasn’t so good, to our way of thinking. Moving to a city we didn’t want to live was even less good.

Slamming my hand in the car door at a rest stop out in the middle of nowhere on the way to the new city was rather horrible. Two of my fingers were crushed, bleeding, and I was in shock, and I don’t mean “oh my goodness, how in the world did I manage to do that?!” I mean real shock. Nausea, seeing stars, blacking out, that kind of shock. And I had another hour and a half of driving to do. People have asked, “did you go to the hospital?” I’ve retorted rather sarcastically, “what hospital?” No, I did not go to the non-existent hospital that does not reside in the middle of nowhere. And I did drive the rest of the way to the small Arizona town to which we moved. We had two vehicles, both packed full of our pets, our selves, and our stuff. There was no other viable choice, as far as I was concerned.

I felt very bad for Em, who sat in her carseat in the middle row, asking every few minutes in a trembling voice, “are you going to die?” as I struggled to hold on, see straight, see at all, and keep the lunch I didn’t eat from escaping. I told her “No, Em. I’m afraid not.”

We got there just before the apartment office closed, and it was with much relief that we picked up the key to the apartment.

And… we went in the apartment, and things went from bad to worse. According to Brad, the inside looked like a crack-house. He watches enough Crime TV, he ought to know. All I can say is that it was horrible. Absolutely horrible.

Brad was about to have a conniption. He was NOT a happy camper! But, I was used to fixing things. I was used to sheltering my family. I was used to making things work, single-handedly. How ironic that I truly had a single hand with which to work. At the time.

The way I saw it, I had to make it work. The office was closed. We signed a lease. Where else could we go with two cats and a gerbil? Indy, as an active service dog, wasn’t an issue, but they were.

I’ll make it work, I said. I’ll clean it, I optimistically said, as I looked around at the crack-house to which we’d come, and ordered Emily “don’t touch anything!” I reminded myself that everything that happens, God’s going to work it out for my good. He is. I’d been telling myself that with every disaster that occurred since September. And before.

So we began to carry in boxes. I had one good hand and arm, anyway, and I was managing.

Until my shoulder went out. My doctor called it bursitis, and maybe that’s what it was. What it felt like, is that my shoulder was out of socket. The pain rivaled that of crushed fingers.

So. He loses his job, I lose my cat, we lose our beautiful home, I lose my best friend (in a way, thanks to the move), the fingers of my left hand are crushed, we live in a filthy crack-house, my right shoulder is immobilized, I am in agony, and…

I called my Mom, and I started to cry. I hate doing that, the crying part, but I did. It was too much. And I said, I know God works out everything for my good. But how can this be for my good?

Talk about a low point. It was the physical pain that did it. I couldn’t even clean! I cried and cried. I was at my end. I’d been relying on myself all along, and myself was done.

So Brad said forget this!!! He was mad. He found us a super nice hotel that had no problem with the pets being there, even when Star snuck out and took a trip through the dining room one morning during breakfast. He called the apartment complex bright and early the next day, and used his Mighty Voice to inform them that they were going to cancel our lease, and they were going to give us our deposit back, and they were going to do it now. You’d think he was a Jedi, the way they fell all over themselves making it happen. It’s his superpower. When he talks that way, which isn’t often, it’s terrifying. It’s all in the tone, and wrongs are righted.

Then he called a leasing agency. Later that day, we went to look at houses. We took the first one we saw. It was in a good neighborhood, near a park, it had a big kitchen, and it was clean.

My hand and shoulder were still in almost unbearable pain, but it was much more bearable staying in a nice hotel, than in a horrid, filthy hovel. It was much more bearable knowing that when we left the hotel, we’d be going to a better place. And no, Em, I don’t mean I’m succumbing to the effects of crushed fingers. I was talking about the house. That poor child had to be reassured often.

After we signed the papers and picked up the keys, we walked through the empty house in amazement. It was so nice. We were prepared for bad, we walked into worse, and then now we were in such a good place.

I stood in the master bedroom, looking around. And I thought, how did this happen? We’re in a better place than we were before! And for the first time, I saw written on the bedroom door in beautiful calligraphy,

With God, all things are possible.

It was one of those drop-to-your-knees and worship moments. One of those “forgive me for ever doubting” moments.

I felt compelled to share. Whoever needed to read this, hold on to God’s promise, Romans 8:28, NLT~ “And we know that God causes everything to work together for the good of those who love God and are called according to his purpose for them.”

“Failure to Engage” is coming along nicely, and is currently 288 pages. There’s a lot left to happen, but it’s happening fast. I hope to have it out in January. We’ll see what God’s timing is.