He who began a good work in you

Being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus. (Philippians 1:6)

It’s no secret that David and I have spent much time modernizing and upgrading his VA Beach home to sell or eventually rent it. Overall, we have spent two or more weeks there every month since we’ve been married – the only exception being while honeymooning in Italy last fall.

We initially estimated the work to take about six months. It’s been fifteen – and we’re still unsure when we’ll be done. Everything takes longer than expected. 

And then there are the “distractions” – side jobs, doctor’s appointments, and surgical procedures, for example. All these things slow everything down and delay progress.  

While we need the side jobs to help pay for the restoration work, bills, and unexpected expenses – like insurance-mandated tree pruning and a broken air conditioner – I’m a “get-er-done” kind of gal, which can make delays a bit frustrating. 

Combine that with the difficulty of managing our and my mom’s GA yards (her vacation home is next to ours), and it becomes increasingly difficult for us to be away during the summer. Our last trip to VA Beach lasted three weeks. We traveled back the Sunday before Memorial Day and spent the holiday cutting grass, weed eating, clearing vines, and picking up fallen limbs. I worked my paying job the next day, then packed for David and me to travel to Texas to see his cousins to celebrate his birthday. The trip was my birthday gift to him.

Needless to say, I was exhausted traveling between VA Beach, Georgia, and Texas. At a breaking point, I cried to David about how tired I was – telling him I didn’t know how much longer I could continue to go back and forth every month, working in Virginia, trying to keep our Georgia home up, and then taking a trip in the middle of it all. “We need the renovation work to be done,” I said. “It’s too much. I need a break.” 

As always, God was listening. Ironically, the answer to my prayer for rest was answered most unexpectedly.

On our second night in Texas, David said he didn’t feel well. By the middle of the night, I, too, became sick. Vomiting and diarrhea kept me up and rushing to the bathroom until dawn.

While all I wanted to do was stay in bed, we were expected to leave David’s cousin’s lake house that same day to drive back to Dallas. David’s family had hoped for us to all stay at the lake during our visit, but home responsibilities called everyone back earlier. 

Not knowing what had made me sick in the night, I was hesitant to say anything to our hosts. We planned to make the best of it and pray I didn’t get sick along the two-and-a-half-hour journey to their city home. Instead, while I was lying down upstairs, David revealed my sickness to his cousins. 

In God’s infinite mercy, we learned that an extra car was available so David and I could leave later, allowing everyone else to depart as planned. While we anticipated only a minor delay before we, too, hit the road, when David began vomiting, everything changed. David and I would spend the night at the lake and head to Dallas the next day. That decision changed everything. 

Sick as we were, David and I were finally able to relax. Without the need to interact with the others, David and I took the time to lay down, look at the water, and just “Be still and know that I am God.” (Psalm 46:10)

“We’ve never been sick together,” I remember telling David after our new plans had been announced. 

“If we have to be sick together, this is a beautiful place for it to happen,” David retorted, to which I wholeheartedly agreed.

For the remainder of the day, David and I took the long overdue break we needed. After scavenging some soup in the closet, we didn’t just make the best of our time alone – sick or not – we celebrated it as an unexpected blessing. 

The following day was David’s birthday, and I woke up feeling well enough to jump into the lake – literally. Not only that, but David and I both tried out his extended family’s paddleboard and truly appreciated the beauty of the place. Above and beyond the brilliant sunshine gracing our last day there, the fluffy cottonwood seeds gently wafting through the air made everything seem positively magical.

Even though I got sick again later that evening at David’s cousin’s Dallas home, it was all worth it to see the love heaped upon my husband by everyone on his birthday. The following day, I enjoyed some blissful rest, which allowed David exclusive time to catch up with everyone on his own – yet another unexpected blessing.

While flying back to GA the next day, I couldn’t help but thank God for using sickness to give me the time I needed to rest and recover from my fatigue. No matter what lies ahead in David’s home renovation and no matter how long it takes to complete the work to his satisfaction, I know God is with us. It’s His bond that ties David and me so closely together. He is the cord that will keep us close – despite the stress of fatigue, delays, medical issues, travel, and work.

We will always be grateful for God’s great hand of provision that sustains us. While everything may not always go precisely as we’d planned, that’s okay. Sometimes, the ride is bumpy and full of turbulence. Other times, our skies are clear, and all is well. Whether we’re above, below, or in the clouds, God is always with us and will see us through. 

After all, “He who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus.” (Philippians 1:6) We know God will continue to give us strength to see this renovation work through until its conclusion and we are so grateful.