It is Just This Middle Part That I Hate!

The Good Shepherd cares for His sheep.

Today began as any other, with the exception of being the day for school photos. I had to help the girls with their coifs, so they would be beautiful for posterity's sake.

Michael and I had our morning coffee, Lee arrived to start the work day and off they went to get parts for a job. When they arrived at the office of our largest supplier, Michael was informed that he no longer had distributor privileges. No letter of notice, no email, no phone call, just waited until he showed up to buy parts and notified him of the change at that time. Shoddy way to run a business.

What this means for us. Micagra will still be able to service the systems this company sells but the parts will cost us more, which will in turn cost the customer more. It will also mean, and this is the big one, that we will no longer be able to use their system to upgrade existing systems in the facilities. Ouch! That is where our biggest income lies.

We knew this was on the horizon. It had happened to other small businesses that do what we do. We just didn't know when the axe would fall. Well, today is the day.

This will mean a major shift in our business. We had already begun working with another product in anticipation of this event. Now we must shift into high gear with that. It will involve investments into equipment and parts from the new company and a large building where Michael and Lee can produce the previously pre-fab equipment and parts they once were able to purchase. It will take more time to make them and thus take away from time in the field. Another ouch.

There is nothing they cannot make themselves and it is only a kink, but it comes at a time when we were on the verge of investing in our new home and the uncertainty of the political/financial times are weighing heavily on us.

Dilema, confusion, questions. All parts of that bigger issue uncertainty.

We will pray for guidance. We will talk about our options, think about it, talk some more, pray, think, talk...it will all work out in the end, of that I am sure. It is just this middle part that I hate. God has always watched over us and taken care of us and I am sure He will now. That part I do not doubt. The uncertainty of the "getting to that point" is excruciating with decisions to be made, the rights and wrongs of it all, the"what ifs" to consider, the "what to do and how to do it" stuff.

Recently, I filled out a "Get to know you better" email. One question was what do you like least about yourself and my answer was my indecisiveness and how excruciating it is for me to make important, major decisions. It makes me wonder if God is stretching me and growing me. Maybe it is an exercise in trust. Since I know Jeremiah 29:11 says,"For I know the plans I have for you," declares the LORD, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future." and I believe that. And Romans 8:28 reads, "And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose."

I guess now is the time to put my faith into action. In my Sunday school class, we were talking about Noah and how he had such faith to trust what God said when the whole world, more than likely ridiculed him for doing so for about 120 years! As a trust exercise, I had my children stand in front of me with their arms outstretched and fall back into my arms, promising them I would not let them fall. It took a couple of times for each of them to finally relax and fall back, without stepping back, and trust me to catch them. How ironic. Or coincidental? Or maybe just God preparing me to do the same with him. I didn't understand why they were so hesitant to fall back when they knew I was there to catch them. Hmmmm.....I am learning that it is scarier than it looked.