My Testimony

It’s hard to condense such a massive experience into something short enough to not lose your attention. My testimony is so much more than this, but this little tidbit of God’s provision in our first two years of marriage is one that I pray God uses to help many people in the future.

In November 2010, at 21 years old, I married the man of my dreams. Packed my bags and moved to his Canadian homeland. I was given a very well paying job despite my…not quite legal, status in the country. Rob had a good paying job, and despite some emotional difficulty adjusting to life in a new country away from my friends and family, life was eeeeasy breezy.

But then, just two months into our marriage, Rob lost his job.

Then we found out the college he was gonna go to didn’t allow married couples to live on campus. But being a freshman he was required to live on campus.

Strikeout.

Two weeks after that we found out, SURPRISE, we’re pregnant. Oh Lord!

So we sought God about our future, asked Him for His plans and to direct our path.

And we all know that God can have some crazy things in mind for us. And this really is where it gets crazy.

We knew we were supposed to move back to Texas, so without hesitation we applied for Rob to immigrate to the US. This process gave us way more heck than we ever imagined. You can read the full detail of our experience HERE.

Two weeks later I was hooked up with a job as an Administrative Assistant for a web-based company based in Dallas. It was going to pay our bills and I’d get to work from home. Then a friend of ours found an apartment that was just right for us and below our budget. We knew we were being obedient and hearing God because things were lining up perfectly.

Skip ahead, I make the move across country 18 weeks pregnant, without Rob. We had to get him into the country without making it look like he was moving, because he technically wasn’t allowed to yet, so he came a few weeks later.

By June/July, things were getting shady with my job. I wasn’t getting paid, and it was obviously becoming a problem, because Rob couldn’t work. I started looking for another job. Nothing.

September…the company completely fell to pieces, owing me lots of money, and leaving me without a job when I was 35 weeks pregnant. I distinctly remember sitting in our future baby’s room, crying uncontrollably, wondering how I was going to provide for my family and this new baby.

But God stepped in.

Our precious Josiah was born in October, and I experienced a love so deep that I will never be the same again. Three weeks after he was born, I began job hunting. After a month of no bites whatsoever, I started applying at restaurants and other little places, because I just needed something by that point.

In mid December I began working part time at Starbucks on minimum wage, but I was so grateful to have a job. However, I never stopped looking for a second job/full time office work.

Finally, in July of 2012, I was selected for an Executive Assistant position with a Christian owned company and a salary that only God could give to someone with zero college experience.

But it’s the time in between where miracles happened.

Two separate months there was an anonymous donation of money into our bank account that covered exactly what we needed for rent.

Three other separate occasions people handed us cash that covered the rest of our rent.

The last unaccounted for month I held a temporary job that covered our rent.

There are many other little ways God blessed us, like in February a random check came to us that allowed me and Rob to go out on a date. Also, each week I received a small sum of tip money at Starbucks that covered diapers for the week.

Looking back on these financially desperate times, I see God at work. Only working part time and getting home by 10 am allowed me to spend a lot of time with Josiah. I didn’t want to miss out on such pivotal times in his early days, and I didn’t! God knew how much that meant to me, and He made it happen.

We have been blessed to go through this! My biggest hope and prayer now is that you and many others will be encouraged and your own faith strengthened. Thanks so much for taking the time to read through all of this!

-Stephanie