At The Well~Having A Thankful Heart

Welcome to "At The Well" where Laurie is discussing having a Thankful Heart. Please stop by Laurie's page to read her story and the other ladies' thankful hearts.

PHILIPPIANS 4:6 "Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God."

This is my first time...At The Well but I was so inspired and my heart full of thankfulness that I decided to join in today.

Giving Thanks During The Difficult Times...There have been several times that immediately come to mind and I want to share two of those times with you. Each time, we learned something different in our lives, our family and grew because of adversity. I have to admit that we (hubby and I) would not be where we are now spiritually if it had not been for these difficult times.

The most recent one was two years ago when my husband had the feeling that something was about to happen at his job. There had been some strange things happen and certain things said that we felt like his job might be in jeopardy. It wasn't immediate but it was something that happened over a couple of weeks.

Roger is not one who sits around and waits for things to happen but he takes action and prepares for what might lie ahead. He began to start searching for other possible jobs and located one with a company that he had worked along side for several years. They told him that he had a job waiting for him if and when the termination came.

The termination was really ugly and their ex-boss was acting down right mean when he terminated several employees at once...including my husbands. There was lies being told and threats being made...it was so ugly. The harrassment lingered for about 8 months with this guy but God was faithful. It was the only time that I saw my husband nearly break but this was just after the other story below had been resolved...so we were still emotionally spent.

He has always been the strong one and I fly all over the place but when he went down...I came up fighting...it was spiritual warfare and I was angry. I got on my knees, got out all my scripture books including "The Power of a Praying Wife" and got busy. My husband felt so encouraged throughout those ugly months and God provided and showed His greatness onced again. My husband grew so much more in his faith as he watched once again God provide.

The other time was July 4th, 2003 at straight up noon...we were served with a lawsuit. Happy 4th of July, huh? We were being sued by friends...or we thought they were our friends...we sold them a house in 1999, ended up moving back next door to our old house and became good friends.

This lawsuit lasted 3 years and 5 days and lots of money later. During the trial, the judge was against us and the realtors from the beginning. She did everything she could to gift wrap the case and award them everything they were asking. We felt like it was because we had 3 male attorneys at our table against one female attorney at their table...plus, one female judge.

There were so many ups and downs and numerous delays...with each delay...we couldn't understand what was going on and how it would turn out. We remained faithful and believing that God would come through it this situation. It took 3 years and 5 days, but the verdict came in the mail...we weren't liable for any damages and the case was dismissed.

The amazing thing to me was that if it wasn't for each of the delays...the end result wouldn't have been the same because each one was just another piece of the puzzle...not guilty!

We grew so much in our faith and in the Word of God during these difficult times. I wouldn't wish this on anyone but at the same time, I am thankful for this adversity because without it...my faith wouldn't be where it is today. Roger and I grew together during this time and relied on each other to get through. It was an emotional roller coaster....but we continued to thank God daily for His faithfulness regardless of the outcome.