Most of you probably don't know the story...

...of how John got his job at Peissel Law Firm over three years ago. It's an incredible story, but I'll attempt to be brief with the highlights.

John finished law school, and I got a job in Austin. We moved in with family until John found something permanent. His first job was doing contract work for BP in Houston. He lived in an efficiency hotel during the week, while I stayed in Austin at a job that had health benefits for us. While in Houston, a coworker told John of a job he'd seen on his University of Houston job bank. The office was in Austin. John sent in a resume and contacted Charlie Peissel, one of the partners. After a couple weeks of scheduling and rescheduling an interview (due to Charlie getting sick and then the Christmas holiday craziness), we were a little worried the whole thing would fall through. Finally, John had an interview scheduled for the end of December, on a Friday at 3:00 pm. He had driven to Austin for it, and I was going to meet him at a nearby restaurant, waiting till he was finished. Afterward, we planned to make our way to Dallas for the holiday weekend. As John's parents drove me into town to drop me at the restaurant, we talked of our cautious excitement about this job. John would be doing research and writing regarding property titles, combining his favorite aspects of law. We would get to stay in Austin, and his office was central, so we could live south, which was even better! I spoke of how I had been praying that John would be calm and well-spoken during his interview. I had asked God to let this be a positive experience for him, even if a job offer wasn't made in the end. Finally, I had pleaded that we would be distracted and enjoy our weekend while we waited for an answer from the partners.

After expressing all this, Mary piped up from the front seat that she had simply prayed the interview would take 15 minutes, and they would offer him a job on the spot. Haha! I laughed a bit at the silliness of the idea and said something like, "Sure, that would also be cool." We drove a bit more in silence when my phone rang. As I reached for it, I saw that it was 3:17 pm, and John was calling. My heart jumped into my throat and my thoughts ran with worry. I assumed the interview had been rescheduled again or something had gone wrong. I answered the phone. And John said, "I got the job."

In 15 minutes.

For the next three and a half years, John worked for a wonderful firm. He enjoyed the intimacy of a small office, the friendship of kind and supportive people, and the challenging work of learning to be a lawyer. While we are, of course, sad to see the firm close, the experience has been a positive one.

But now we must move on.

I have always thought that the story of John getting his first law job was a bit of a miracle. I'm learning now that I've only scratched the surface of what a real miracle looks like. John has been on a job hunt for several months. Our primary reasons included better insurance coverage for our family and higher pay, both of which would allow me to stop working and stay at home with our growing family. As we've become aware of Luke's potential needs, we were pretty certain we could not place him in day care. Which would solidify our need to have a stay at home parent. But as weeks turned into months of searching, we had zero significant leads.

Zero.

Our best options included more secure positions that paid MUCH less money. We began considering selling our house and living rent-free with family. And then John's firm announced its closing. And it seemed the choice was out of our hands. We would soon be completely jobless.

I had been telling John for weeks that God had to have another unseen option for us. There HAD TO BE something we didn't know about that was going to blow us away and be PERFECT. The choices set before us were unfulfilling and required SO MUCH sacrifice. I felt like we would be moving backwards. I was praying daily against discouragement and pleading with God to move quickly with His miracles.

Last Friday afternoon, Jack and I were reading books post-nap when John came in the room to tell me that he had gotten a Facebook message from our friend, Amanda. She had given him the email of a girlfriend of hers who worked for an oil and gas firm in Fort Worth. John had sent the friend an email, and she had replied quickly that she would forward his info to her boss, one of the partners. I nodded and smiled and said something like, "That's awesome, sweetie. I'm so thankful we have friends looking out for us." But my words were cut short when John's phone rang. He answered and then gestured to me that this phone call was the firm he had just contacted. Only 15 minutes before.

And I burst into tears.

I'm not a big crier. My eyes tear when I hear or tell a story that makes me happy. And I often tear up when I sing in church or pray. But I rarely spontaneously begin to cry. Something hit me in that moment. It's like, before any words were spoken, I knew God was answering prayers. I asked Jack to pray with me, and we prayed for God to protect my heart from worry and doubt and to trust that God is capable to move mountains in our lives. Maybe 20 minutes later, John came into the room and asked, "Would you like to go to Dallas Sunday? I have an interview Monday morning."

WOULD I???

This was his first actual interview. After weeks of applications, networking lunches and coffees (as many as 3 per day!), and cold-calling members of the Austin Bar Association, God gave us an interview. As John explained the job, my eyes continued to well with tears. Though the position would be contract (read: no benefits, higher tax responsibility, no long-term security), it could begin immediately (as in the next few days), pay the same (or better, if he can bill enough hours) and let him work from home with flexible hours. Plus, given that its the same kind of work he does with Peissel, he would be an obvious fit for an opening.

As a bonus, we would get to spend Mothers' Day/my sister's birthday with my parents, sister, BIL and nephew during a last-minute trip to the DFW area. The weekend was a wonderful blur, and Monday morning turned out to be a fruitful day. John was offered the job, and he gladly accepted!

He began work late last week, all the while still scheduling lunches, coffees, and phone calls with potential contacts/employers. Given the structure of a contract position, we don't expect a paycheck from this new firm for 30-60 days. We will be exhausting our savings in the month of June, especially as maternity and NICU bills come in. But this position is an amazing "band-aid" while we wait.

John continues to search for and apply to permanent jobs. He still feels an extreme pressure to secure a stable income in a firm that will provide benefits and upward mobility. Ultimately, we both desire that his skills as a lawyer are recognized, and he is given opportunity to be challenged in new ways in a growing field. We are continually overwhelmed with the support we have received from friends, family, coworkers, and some strangers! God has been displaying His goodness in the hearts of those who offer help, leads, or simply kind encouragement. We feel ridiculously loved most days!

I have often had to remind myself that I need to be careful what I pray for. John and I have prayed for that miraculously unseen option to appear before us. In the case of this contract position, it felt like it came out of the blue, rushing to catch us before we fell. It is an answer to prayer that we couldn't imagine. And I see also that it answers other prayers that I barely realized I had uttered.

You see, in these last months, our small family has been wrapped up in prayer, whether our own or those of our community. No matter what joy or tragedy we might experience, I have been so thankful that God chose this year to teach me about prayer. How would I know back in January that as my dear friend and I set out to learn more about prayer, God would be so active to draw us into daily conversation with Him? Whether I spoke the words clearly or not, I have prayed that God continue to pull me close in a relationship deeply reliant on His strength and wisdom. I know that if He had given us the perfect, permanent job with benefits and no struggles at all, we would be tempted to say thanks and simply move on with our lives. So instead, He has answered big prayers in big ways and yet left room for continued need.

In exactly two weeks, we will have another child to hold in our arms. We will be praising God as we take this boy home someday to our house, which we currently get to keep! And we will continue to trust Him as John actively pursues permanent, secure employment. Just as prayers are answered in our home, we are told of prayers needed for others. And we gladly bring these requests before our Lord, knowing that He is so faithful to answer as a loving father would. He doesn't always give us exactly what we ask for, but He always gives us better.

Jesus speaking in Luke 11:

And I tell you, ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives, and the one who seeks finds, and to the one who knocks it will be opened. What father among you, if his son asks for a fish, will instead of a fish give him a serpent; or if he asks for an egg, will give him a scorpion? If you then, who are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will the heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him!

What are YOU asking for??