There was a tremendous difference between our home in TX and the house I bought in Greenville, NY. Each has proven “perfect” for the lives we have lived in each location.

“Delight yourself in the Lord, and he will give you the desires of your heart.” — Psalm 37:4. It has taken hours of work, many given by Deerfooters, but look at what the Lord has provided. We consider our home and its location a gift from God.

Our location provided hundreds of acres behind our five acres where we could walk, horse back ride, dirt bike, snow mobile and cross country ski. A half mile away is a PGA certified golf course. Within easy walking distance is a resort for young families. We are encouraged to bring our grand children to use their playgrounds off season.

And our house? Today all floor coverings, windows, kitchen cabinets, interior doors and trim, siding, and roofing have been replaced, and three large bay windows have been added to the west side of our house – great views and sunsets. The damp basement is now dry, and has two 4’X 6’ south facing windows, a nice play room, a great little study, and a large wood working shop. The sorry deck on the back of the house has been replaced with a screened porch, deck and patio which together have almost as many square feet as the first floor of our home. From our kitchen and family room we look over beautiful flower gardens and a scruffy lawn to a wall of 15’ Colorado Blue Spruce and beyond, to the woods. On the south side of our home is large natural slate patio, made private with a stone wall, berm, and extensive tall grasses – creating an out-door room which we use for a month before, and a month after the deck/patio are comfortably useable. To the north-west of our home are the vegetable garden, rhubarb, blueberry and raspberry patches. This year we froze a winter’s supply of blue berries, red raspberries, and organic vegetables.

This year the garden club asked if they could include our home on their tour. Our children cannot imagine that we would ever sell the place! Our son Dirk, the associate pastor of a church 25 minutes away, and his wife and three sons come frequently to our home… their home. Hardly a week goes by that we do not have “visitors” of some kind, many of them Deerfooters. This week a tree surgeon, three pastors, and an Albany County highway worker and their families have cut Christmas trees on our property – and enjoyed a meal or hot chocolate. While I was Director of Deerfoot, for the 2 or 3 days before staff training began, the 3 section chiefs and my assistant for the summer came to review details for the summer and to finalize staff training.

When in a difficult situation, let us not be too quick to turn from “giving thanks in every situation”. God’s hand was integral to my being asked to resign in TX and to being hired by DL as Director at a critical time in DL history. We also believe that God’s hand was integral to the quick sale of our home in TX and the purchase of our home in NY. As I continue to tell the DL story, my expectation is that you, like me, will see God’s involvement historically, and to this day. Often there is an incredible amount of work involved in what the Lord asks us to do. Consider the experiences of Noah, Abraham, Jacob, Joseph, David, Nehemiah… James, John, Peter, Paul – they all had to trust God and use every bit of preparation, brain power, and physical strength they had. The result? God’s work was done, and the people involved had the satisfaction, the joy of experiencing God using them in His work.

Have I seen every tough situation turn into a satisfactory result? Absolutely not. There are times when my biblical understanding tells me how things should work out, but my logic continues to say “impossible”. Yet, I must push on, for I seek to live In Partnership With God.

We can smile now at the tears we shed when our family arrived at our new house on a rainy, gray day and was greeted with the smell of cat urine and cigarette smoke. God knew that he had provided the right house for us, and this fact has become increasingly obvious as we have lived in our home.

If you are going to live In Partnership With God, you too must push on, earnestly seeking His wisdom.

“Delight yourself in the Lord, and he will give you the desires of your heart.” — Psalm 37:4