… Everything We Need

(circa 1985-90)

Self-employment comes with a myriad of benefits – and challenges too. You can choose your own days and times to work. You are free to take time off whenever you want. However, you are not guaranteed an income. There is no sick leave or vacation and if you want health insurance you have to buy it yourself – and it’s insanely expensive. Also, in Flagstaff maintenance work is very seasonal. BUT somehow we made it. Looking back, I can see so many ways God provided for us.

WORK – AND PIZZA TOO!

One way was through our dear next door neighbor, John. He owned two Peter Piper Pizza restaurants in Flagstaff and whenever he needed work done on them he hired Bill to do it. And then, a few years later he opened an Italian restaurant and hired Bill to do some of the construction. Being pizza lovers, we went to Peter Piper Pizza nearly every week with our friends. I’ll never know if John told his manager, Ed, to do this or if Ed just decided to do it himself, but he gave us our pizza for free – every week for several years.

PERPETUAL HOSPITALITY

Our church was the driving force in our lives and our tiny church was one church out of hundreds that were spread throughout the world. The center of the organization in the United States was located in Anaheim, California – conveniently located about 8 hours from Flagstaff, and Interstate 40 just happened to run right through Flagstaff.

A big part of our church’s culture was to provide hospitality for anyone who asked for it and Flagstaff was the perfect place for anyone traveling to or from Anaheim to stop and spend the night. Anaheim also hosted numerous conferences throughout the year; therefore, there were many people traveling to and from Anaheim – and stopping in Flagstaff for the night.

We lived in a 4-bedroom, 3-bathroom house and had a guest room that was always ready for guests. There were times when one set of guests would leave after breakfast in the morning and another set would arrive in time for dinner – just barely enough time for me to wash the sheets and towels, clean house and cook dinner. We loved it, and enjoyed many wonderful opportunities to meet people from all over the country and even the world! One time we hosted a family from Spain that didn’t speak a word of English. We had so much fun trying to communicate with them. (How do you describe waffles to someone using only gestures?)

How did we afford all the food we served? I have no idea – but God provided.

HEATING WITH WOOD

Winters in Flagstaff can get very, very cold – well below 0 degrees. There was one time just before Christmas when the temperature plummeted to minus 40 degrees! One day someone had given me a beautiful huge poinsettia plant and I accidentally left it in my car. It had only been about 15 minutes but as soon as I discovered what I had done, I raced back out to my car to get it. In just those few minutes that beautiful plant had frozen solid! Yes, that’s COLD!

Because of such cold, heating sources can be extremely expensive in Flagstaff. Our home, however, had come with a very efficient wood stove which meant that our heat source could be nearly free. There was a huge forest surrounding our town that provided an unending source of BTUs and we took advantage of it. Every year in late summer we went to the US Forest Service office to get a permit to cut firewood. It only cost $15 for 5 cords of wood. Nearly every Saturday in the fall we would pack our tuna sandwiches, chips and homemade chocolate chip cookies and set off with the kids to go deep into the forest. As soon as we came to a likely spot, it was my job to hop out of the car and go scouting for a good spot, then lead Bill to it.

The best firewood was usually dead standing trees. Aspen was a good source to get your fire started and oak was the best for keeping it burning. Neither of those woods produced much creosote. The second best wood was juniper. And each kind of wood produces its own, unique aroma, the fragrance of which I can still smell in my fondest memories.

Anyway, upon arrival at our spot, we unloaded the chain saws and gas and gloves and lunch and everything else that was needed for a productive wood cutting day. Starting the chain saws could be a frustrating challenge but once we heard that familiar buzz we knew our work had begun. Bill would cut the trees down, then cut them into sizes that we could haul to our old, beat-up wood trailer. It was such an adventure – kind of like being pioneers. Bill and I enjoyed the adventure and Luke was really in his element – especially when Bill handed him our small chain saw and let him use it. He felt so grown up. (I, however, being a protective mother, was terrified for his safety.)

Shannon, on the other hand, HATED every minute of woodcutting. She hated to get dirty and hated hauling and stacking the wood. It took every ounce of patience to prod her into doing her share of work and whenever she consented, she would reluctantly pick up the smallest piece of wood, hold it with two fingers and complain with every step back to the trailer. (Little stinker…) And to this day, she refuses to build a fire in any fireplace because of the “trauma” she experienced during those days of her childhood.

After a few years we bought an old Dodge super cab truck that we would take wood cutting. One day we drove to Turkey Butte which was 25 miles from town on a dirt road. We found some great standing dead oak, not too far from the road and we began cutting and hauling. It was getting late and we had gotten a decent amount of wood loaded, when I went scouting for just a little more to top off the load.

I came upon a huge stand of beautiful, perfectly sized standing dead oak and gleefully ran back to the family to tell them the good news. So Bill drove to the spot. There was a large berm in the middle of the road, which Bill successfully navigated over. When he reached the spot, we began cutting, hauling and loading the wood. We had our biggest load ever!

By that time, it was getting quite late. Darkness was rapidly approaching and storm clouds were ominously gathering so we decided it was time to leave. Our truck was absolutely loaded as full of wood as it could possibly hold and Bill headed back to the main road. However, he had to cross that berm again. The truck, now heavily loaded with wood, bottomed out on the berm. We were hopelessly STUCK.

It was getting darker and darker, and big, fat raindrops began falling as thunder began booming and lightning began flashing. We had to dig ourselves out but had forgotten to bring a shovel. (Lesson learned – that never happened again.) So Bill began unloading wood and the kids and I grabbed some small metal stakes that we had found, crawled underneath the truck and began to dig away at the berm. Finally, we were able to drive over the berm. Covered, head to toe with dirt, which had turned to mud in the rain, we re-loaded the wood and were on our way home, just as darkness crept over the forest. And after driving another 25 miles on a dirt road, in the dark, in a thunderstorm, civilization was a welcome sight!

When we got home we decided to wait until the next day to unload and stack the wood. I have NEVER been so wet and so dirty and I relished every moment of my hot shower and cozy bed that night.

BUT now we had plenty of wood to keep us warm in the winter – and it only cost us $15.00!

HEALTH INSURANCE? – NO WAY!

When you are self-employed you have to buy your own health insurance. We had no money for insurance or doctors and with two young children, that was scary. Whenever fear crept into my heart and nag at me, I would pray, “Lord, you are our insurance. Our health and safety are in your hands and we are totally dependent on you.”

One day at school Shannon developed an odd rash and her teacher sent her to the nurse. The nurse called me and I went to pick her up. Neither one of us could figure out what the rash was from and I was faced with one of my worst fears: I would have to take her to the doctor. The tender-hearted nurse must have sensed the fear in my voice and told me that she would do some research and get back to me. The next day she called me with the diagnosis. It was a little virus called “fifth’s disease” – and was no more dangerous than a common cold. It would simply go away in a couple of days – which it did. God took care of us through a sweet school nurse.

Another day the kids were playing in the back yard. Luke, channeling his Tarzan persona, had tied a rope off the 2^nd floor balcony onto the roof of the rabbit hutch below. As he was sliding down the rope he yelled at Shannon to get out of the way but Shannon, being the stubborn little sister that she was, continued to stand there and play with her rabbit. When Luke hit the rabbit hutch a board with a nail protruding from it slid off, hit Shannon’s leg and put a small gash in it.

She ran, screaming, into the house. Her leg really did need stitches but there was no way we could afford to take her to emergency. However, a friend of ours who was a nurse happened to be visiting us. She patched up her leg as well as she could and it healed just fine. There is still, however, a little scar on her leg. Every time I see it, it’s a reminder of those days and how God took care of us. Her injury could have been so much worse.

In fact, none of us got seriously sick or injured during those years. And especially with our daredevil son and all of his crazy antics, that’s a true miracle. (There will be more on that subject in a future chapter – or two. Actually, I could write an entire book about Luke and his “adventures”. Stay tuned…) Anyway, God really did a good job.

AND … HOW ABOUT A HOME INSPECTION BUSINESS?

About a year after we had been in Flagstaff some friends from our church in Long Beach decided to sell their house and move to Flagstaff too. A home inspection had been done on their house. When they arrived in Flagstaff, they showed their inspection report to us and suggested something that changed everything for us: “Hey Bill, why don’t you do home inspections?”

We had never heard of such a thing as home inspections and, at the time, it was unheard of in Flagstaff. But home inspections made so much sense! And so we began a new business, doing advertising and creating inspection forms. In the first year, Bill did a few home inspections, but eventually it became his full time profession. He loved doing it – and eventually it provided a good living for us.

EVERYTHING WE NEED

Philippians 4:19-20 says, “You can be sure that God will take care of everything you need, his generosity exceeding even yours in the glory that pours from Jesus. Our God and Father abounds in glory that just pours out into eternity.” (MSG)

A long time before, God planted that crazy idea of moving to Flagstaff into our hearts. We had no means of support and there was no rational reason for us to move. It was like jumping off the edge of a cliff and trusting God to catch us.

At the time I didn’t realize what a difference free pizza, a winter’s worth of wood for $15, a nurse that would diagnose our child’s disease, providing food for guests or a business idea from a friend would make. But looking back, it’s so obvious. God really did catch us as we jumped off the cliff.

And I’m sure I will never know all the other ways God provided for us. He just kept pouring out myriads of big miracles and little blessings that made all the difference and even gave us things that we never asked for. He just knew what we needed and provided it.

I can’t lie – I still woke up in the middle of the night in a cold sweat, anxiety gripping my heart, wondering how we were going to make it. (Sometimes I do that even now.) But when the God of the universe makes a promise to take care of you, you’d better believe he will do it! When will I ever learn?