I must start this post explaining a lesson I learned this summer. We knew going into the month of May that our children would be attending Desoto Central this school year. There was one week in particular that I was out walking and having my quiet time and God had me praying some specific prayers about Ty and him going to a public school. Without going into the specifics, I will just say that He made my heart uneasy about him attending the middle school. I was not struggling about Grant and Kendall going to the High School, just Ty at the middle school. Anyway, I spent that week praying over this situation and on the following Sunday, Brad and Ty went to MUS to watch Grant in a combine. While there, Brad was asked to have Ty tour MUS and see if he would like to go there. WHAT?!?! I quit my job and we were launching this ministry so there was NO WAY we could afford private education, much less MUS. But...because of how God had me praying all week, I believed that this was all Him! In a matter of a week, we had completed the financial aid papers, had an interview and tour, taken the entrance exam, and gotten accepted! It was a whirlwind of a week and Ty was very excited about the possibility! Everything, however, depended on how much financial aid we qualified for. We were very disappointed to find out that, because of waiting until May to apply, there wasn't a whole lot of financial assistance available. Therefore, it was not going to work for Ty to go there. I was so sad for Ty. Had we never gone through the whole process of applying, getting accepted, etc., he would have never even thought of going there, much less gotten his hopes up. I was so bothered by all of this and just kept asking God why He would even have had us go through all of that only to say, "No!" It was just so difficult for me to grasp because of who I know Him to be! Ty was now not very content with going to Desoto Central and yet there was nothing we could do about it! Then...my devotion on May 20th talked about Mary, Martha, and Lazarus. You see, when Lazarus got sick, Mary and Martha only sent word to Jesus saying, "Lord, Your dear friend is very sick." (John 11:3) They didn't tell Him what they thought He should do or anything. They just told Him the need. They did, however, know what they could expect from Him because they knew His heart and His compassion and His power. BUT, Jesus did not act how they expected Him to act. This took them by surprise and they were even a little frustrated that He did what He did! Well, this is where I was when the door closed for Ty to go to MUS. It just seemed so uncharacteristic of God to do this to Ty. I wasn't mad at God at all, but I was very confused and I really wanted Him to explain Himself to me! Well, He did in this devotion. It concluded by saying that Jesus didn't do what Mary and Martha expected Him to do because He planned to do more than they could think or imagine!!!! He intended to EXCEED their expectations! Well...that's all He had to say to me and I spent the rest of the summer looking forward to seeing God exceed my expectations in the area of Ty's education!
Well, June and July passed with nothing! No direction, no money for his tuition, etc. We slowly began to accept the reality that it was indeed God's plan for Ty to go to Desoto Central Middle. I still wanted to understand why He did what He did, but I kind of quit asking Him to show me. Then, all of a sudden, the week of school starting, Brad tells me that he wants Kendall and Ty to go apply and test to get into Harding! WHAT?!?!?! Why on earth would we put Ty though that again? I was actually resisting this decision and I usually don't do that. I just couldn't bear watching Ty go through that again. I didn't want to see him get his hopes up only to have them shattered AGAIN! Well, we did it anyway. Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday were crazy getting them tested and filling out applications, etc. The biggest blessing, however, was that they used the same financial aid system as MUS so all of that was already done! We found out at 10:00 pm on Wednesday night that it would not work for them to go there. DEVASTATION...again! I just wasn't sure I could go through this again with Ty. Kendall was ok with going to DC and I was good with that...especially since Grant was going to be there with her. But, Ty was so upset and told me later that he was waiting for me to come in his room and say, "Just kidding!" and tell him that he was going to Harding. He went on to bed and we got up the next morning and they both started school at DC. At the end of the day, Kendall said it was better than she expected and Ty said it was about what he expected. The next day, Ty started texting me around 9:30 and I could just tell that he was really struggling and it was absolutely killing me! Then, we got a text from Harding around 10:00 and it looked like things were going to work out for Brad to coach track and then my parents were able to help too and HE WAS GOING TO GO TO HARDING!!! I went immediately and withdrew him from DCMS. He didn't know why and, when I saw him coming down the hall, he asked why I was getting him and I said, "YOU ARE GOING TO HARDING!!!" He threw his arms up in the air and said, "YES!!!" It was a miraculous moment! You see, Harding is beyond our expectations! Nothing against MUS, but we love Christian education and not just private education. For him to be at Harding is the very best thing for him! God exceeded my expectations even though I had pretty much given up on our situation being anything like Mary, Martha, and Lazarus' situation! HE IS SO FAITHFUL!!!
Now...with that said, I have to tell all of you that God did not do what I expected Him to do. I believe He told me that He was going to give us that Memphis house just across the street from us. But today it was sold to another family! I am so happy for the couple who sold it and I am so happy for the new buyers. I don't, however, understand why God had me praying so hard for that house. BUT, what I do know is that He doesn't always act in the way we expect and that is ok! Actually, it is wonderful! He loves to exceed our expectations and I have experienced this first-hand with Ty and I believe I will experience it again with the Mid-South Love Home!! We desire to have a next step house and I thought it was this house and that it was soon. That wasn't His plan and I am perfectly ok with that! I am just looking forward to seeing what He is up to! Who knows what He will do! I have a saying that I love and hold onto very often, "God loves to burst into an impossible situation with an answer that no one has thought of. He looks for faith so when He bursts in, He is recognized!" May my faith always be increasing!!!!
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