Chapter 7

Isaac walked into the house as his dad was walking out. “Good, you are home. You need to get that roof on the chicken coop fixed,” his father reminded him. “I know. I was going to get to that,” Isaac replied. Isaac gathered up some tools and headed out to the chicken coop. He remembered back when his grandparents lived on this farm, and he had come over and helped collect eggs. Not much has changed around here since they lived here, he thought to himself. Then he thought about his grandmother and how she passed away three years ago. Gramps was in a nursing home in town. He enjoyed seeing him, but it made him sad because of the Alzheimer’s; his grandpa did not know any of the family members anymore. He missed the days when they would go fishing and hang out. Life was sure tough at times. Isaac climbed the ladder and laid out the tin over the bad section of the roof. Then he slid it over, spread out some tar, and then nailed it in place. “There, good as new. Well, maybe not good as it was when it was new, but better than thirty minutes ago.” He chuckled to himself. Isaac gathered up his tools and put them back in the garage, then headed to the house to get cleaned up. As he walked in, he could smell the garlic, so that meant it was spaghetti night. Mmm, he thought to himself. When he was finished washing his hands, his mom announced that dinner was ready. The entire family, except for Jacob, who was still at work, crowded around the small dining room table. Peter Kramer asked everyone to hold hands as he blessed the food. Isaac could tell by his dad’s prayer that the interview had not gone well. He could always tell what was troubling his parents by the prayers they offered up. He felt bad for his father. It won’t be long, and I will be out there working to help support the family, Isaac thought to himself.

“How was school?” their mom asked each of the children. Priscilla was the first to answer. “School was awesome today. We had pizza for lunch, and Jimmy threw up in the cafeteria. It was really gross!” “Young lady, please do not talk about that during dinner,” her mom asked her. “Joshua, how was your day?” “It was fine. We had a quiz in algebra. I got eight out of ten correct,” Joshua replied. “That is great! Good job,” their father said. “Hanna, anything exciting at school?” “Not really, just another day,” Hanna replied. “So, Isaac, I hear you had another dream last night,” his dad said. “Yes, the same dream I always have. I really wish I knew why I keep having the same dream over and over again,” Isaac replied. “Have you asked God for answers?” his mom asked. “Of course, I have. I stayed up after I got back in bed and prayed for answers. I just don’t seem to hear from God,” Isaac shared. “Yes, you do. God talks to all of us; we just need to learn how to listen,” his dad shared. “Remember when your youth group went to Des Moines last year? You shared how God was speaking to you during that trip.” “Yes, I know, but since then, I think He has forgotten about me,” Isaac said. “There is no way that God would ever forget about you. He loves you. You are His child. He has not gone anywhere,” Ruth responded. “Just be patient. You will hear from him.”

As they finished dinner and started to clean up, Jacob arrived home from work. “Here is your plate,” their mom called out to him as he came in the kitchen. “How was work?” “It was fine. They are talking about adding some overtime soon. They are opening up a new line next month. That would allow me to get some more hours,” Jacob replied. “Looks like I will be joining you soon,” Isaac interjected. “We will see. God may have different plans,” their mom shared.

Each of the kids split off to work on their homework as Jacob sat down to eat. “How did your interview go?” Jacob asked his dad. “Not great. They seem to be looking for more entry-level staff. Having twenty years’ experience as a supervisor does not help as much as it should. Still waiting to hear back from Duncan’s. Ted Wilson told me they were hiring, so I applied there last week,” their father answered.

“You will get something. God will open a door for you,” Jacob reassured him. “Thanks, Son,” his father replied.

Peter joined his wife in their bedroom after talking with Jacob. “How are you, really?” Ruth asked her husband. “I will be okay. It is really tough not having a steady income coming in. I know I make money here and there doing odd jobs for folks, but we need something steadier and with health insurance,” Peter replied. “We will be okay; we are always okay,” his wife assured him. “God will come through as He always does,” she continued. “I know, but it is still tough. Being a man, I have expectations on who I am supposed to be and how I am supposed to provide. I just feel I am falling short right now,” Peter explained. “Don’t you ever think that,” his wife scolded. “You are doing everything that you can. God has this. Allow Him to be God in your life,” his wife reminded him. “Every trial, time of joy, time of rest is a blessing from God. Yes, I said every trial. Without trials and struggles, we will never grow. You can’t build muscle without working the muscle you have. Allowing it to tear down and rebuild is how it grows and strengthens. That is the same way with our faith. If we were always on top of the mountain, we would never learn how to grow and become more in life. Soon we will look back and see God’s fingerprints all over this time in our lives. It will have been a short season that allowed us to grow and realize how much we need His strength in our lives,” Ruth reminded her husband. “Thank you so much for loving me. I can’t imagine where I would be without you and the kids. God has truly blessed me in so many ways,” Peter replied. “Well, that is something you will never find out. You are stuck with all of us,” Ruth said with a smile. “I love you!” her husband replied. “I love you more,” she answered with a smile.