Wow, so much has happened in our lives these last six months. We were living in Chattanooga, TN where we both had great jobs. I was fired from my job while I was out for my back surgery and in rehab. Then, my husband took a job offer, in Texas which he thought would be better for our family in the long run. Trust me; I went kicking and screaming the whole way. After my back surgery and neck surgery, in Chattanooga, the surgery with my back did not go as well as planned. I was out of work from the time we moved to Texas until now. We had only been in Texas for six months when my husband’s boss announced to him that they were closing down the radio station on Friday, and he was told this on a Tuesday, leaving him with no time (3 days) to find a job. Now, we’re stuck out there alone and with no family or friends. That moment when Ronnie told me what had happened I was so angry, and I had just a panic of fear. Security has always been the one thing I need since my childhood. Now, that was gone, who was I going to trust, who would pay our bills, how would we get groceries? All these fears consumed me for months; we have both felt hopeless. I kept thinking, how could someone wreck someone’s life that bad? How could someone move us 12 hours from home knowing their business was on the verge of closing down? Ok, where are you, God? For the first time in our lives we seriously did not know what we were going to do. Long story short, we ended up moving back to Birmingham, AL and moved in with my mother, which has had to be our lowest point ever. I have sat and watched my husband feel less and less of a man because he has had so much trouble finding a job. I have watched him crying just out of sheer despair. I have watched him first-hand being torn down, and kicked in the mouth by other people, even by our family. All the while continuing to trust God, knowing He will provide, and knowing God has just the right job and people that he will cross paths with all in God’s timing. We are now going on four months that he has been without a job; it has been grueling. To have a stack of bills you cannot pay, you don’t have your own place to live anymore; you can’t go out and do the things you once could do. You know who you thought you were the closest to, acting like they never knew you when we needed a place to live. Being in the place where we are right now has made us cling only to God and not other people. We are trusting Him to get us out of our situation. Now, we are hanging on to the promises in His word, that is all we have. We have learned not to take anything for granted anymore, such as having a home, a kitchen to cook in, a bed to sleep in, your own bathroom, and just the comfort of knowing you are in your own home. I will always appreciate having an apartment or a home now. When we can get a place of our own, I will thank God every day for the blessing of having a roof over our heads we call our own. We are letting go of all of those people who let us down in one of the hardest times of our life, and trusting God to bring us new friends, those who stick closer than a brother. I am just so proud to see how my husband has witnessed to me through this time in staying so faithful, never losing hope, and his true dignity and respect he has shown to those who have just beat him down. He still showed them Jesus. I have to say my best friend since childhood has been here for both of us. Her belief in us and her encouragement is just amazing. I realize it is better to have one true friend like her than 20 who turn you away when you’re in trouble. She has always been a light to me in some very dark places I have been. Even though some of our fights throughout our lives, I always knew if I needed her she was there. What a comforting feeling, a true friend who is as genuine as nothing I have ever seen in my life. Her name is Jenny, so please pray for her and her family, thank God for putting her in my life, thank Him for giving me the comfort of knowing and seeing what a true friend should look like, ask Him to bless her beyond measure. I know pretty soon Ronnie will get a job offer, I know we will once again live out on our own. I know God is going to bless him abundantly just due to watching how He has just clung to the Lord through all this. Please continue to pray God will direct him to the job He wants him to have, where he can minister to others who are going through life and have so many issues just as we have had. We have a precious friend in ministry, and his logo is “God Did It” and that is one thing we are going to say on the other side of this trial, GOD DID IT! If you too are going through something in your life that is way beyond your control and you to don’t see a ray of hope, hang in there. Just ask God what it is He wants you to learn as you’re walking through your trial. Hang on to the fact, things cannot get any worse, so they have to get better. You’re not stuck. God has the answers He is just wanting us to be still and know He is God in these moments. Thank you all for continuing to pray for Ronnie and me, and we would love to hear from you how we can pray for you. We want to do this thing called life with you and continue doing life together.
Ronnie and Christie Bruce
hopeknowsyourname@gmail.com
To book Christie for your next event, please go to hopeknowsyourname.com and you will find a part of my story and how to contact us.
Doing Life Together Everyday 