Answers

This can be considered part six of a series of events. For the previous part in this series, follow this link.

The first thing I need to tell you, is last Monday, after I wrote my blog post, I went and looked on the local classified ads for Norwegian Elkhound. As I mentioned previously, they are nearly impossible to find, but I knew that there were going to be some there.

And there were. There was a new litter being advertised for that are ready to go home at the end of February. They were located near to my parent's home in Idaho. The Lord had provided another way for us to get the puppies. That night, we called them and asked if we could come and see them on Saturday, since we were going to be up that direction anyway.

Fast forward to Thursday afternoon.

So, Thursday, Grig called me. He told me that they were kind of in-between jobs right now, and they had given him the option of working on Friday or not (he works 10 hour days, so Fridays are overtime).

After praying about it, he set himself a goal and felt like if he accomplished his goal, he could take Friday off. He nearly did, but failed to complete the last task he had set for himself. So, he told them that he would work Friday.

We were a bit disappointed, because Friday night we were leaving for our Anniversary date (which I will talk about more tomorrow), and if he didn't' have work, we could get to the hotel sooner than 7:00 at night.

However, we felt that it was the Lord's will, and we hoped that maybe Friday would be the day that we found out about Grig's job.

Friday, Grig went to work and at lunch, I hadn't heard anything. I'm learning to be patient and accept the Lord's time, so it was actually okay. At the end of work, Grig called me and told me that he still hadn't heard anything, so he felt like he should go and talk to the boss again. The following is essentially what he relayed to me later.

Grig went up to his direct supervisor and the conversation went something like this:

Grig said, "Hey, it's been two weeks and I still haven't had my interview."

He said his supervisor looked at him a little strangely and said, "What exactly did he(his direct supervisor, who is also his brother) tell you when you interviewed with him?"

Grig said, "He told me that after 90 days I would have a review and I would also receive a raise if they decided to keep me."

His supervisor said, "Alright, let's go talk to him."

They went into the office and kind of stood there, waiting.

Finally, his direct supervisor said, "Grig wants his 90 day interview, and something about a raise."

The brother kind of looked at them out of the corner of his eye from where he was working at the desk and said, "Is he sure he wants to hear what I have to say?"

Grig was pretty sure he was joking. The higher supervisor then asked Grig how he thought he was doing.

Grig told him that he was still kind of slow, but that he had improved a lot, and given more time and experience, he would be just as quick as the other guys. The higher supervisor agreed and told him that they'd keep him on. However, he added that they were kind of between jobs right now, and he wouldn't be receiving a raise yet. He then added that if he didn't get one in the next month and a half, to come and talk to him again.

Evidently, afterward Grig tried to call me, but the call didn't come through. When he got home, he explained what had happened. We were very grateful, but also slightly confused. We had been told that we could get the puppy when Grig got his job, and his raise.

During our date, we prayed about it, and felt strongly that it was okay to put a deposit down on one of the pups.

Say hello to the newest incoming member of our family:

We're going to call her Siff.

Kevin in pretty thrilled about it! He sure loved going to look at those puppies.

We are so grateful to our Heavenly Father. It is nice not to worry about Grig losing his job. We were trying to have faith and patience, and the Lord has blessed us abundantly.

We also wanted to thank all of those who have been praying on our behalf. We really have appreciated it.

We can finally begin moving forward again. 

And did I mention...we're getting a puppy!?!?

A Surprising Twist

This could be considered part 5 of a series about our current struggle with Grig's job. If you want part four with links to the other three parts, follow this link to "Enduring Faith."

A few days ago, as I was struggling with my faith, I was reading the scriptures. I was reading a story in Alma, where a group of righteous people had been enslaved by the Lamanites. They hadn't done anything wrong, and they cried out to the Lord for Him to save them.

At first, the Lord just told them, in Mosiah 24:13 

And it came to pass that the voice of the Lord came to them in their afflictions, saying: Lift up your heads and be of good comfort, for I know of the covenant which ye have made unto me; and I will covenant with my people and deliver them out of bondage.

However, for a while they had to continue to suffer in bondage. The Lord made their burdens light, so they couldn't feel them, and then after a while, it says, in Mosiah 24:16:

And it came to pass that so great was their faith and their patience that the voice of the Lord came unto them again, saying: Be of good comfort, for on the morrow I will deliver you out of bondage.

As I read that, I was floored by the word patience (which is why I bolded it). I hadn't noticed that word before. It wasn't just their faith that was great. They also had great patience to wait on the Lord's time.

I felt like that was my answer. The Lord was telling me that if I would wait in faith and patience, we would receive all the blessings we had been promised.

Yesterday, at church, we received some surprising news. We had been in contact with the seller of the Norwegian Elkhound that we had been looking at purchasing. We had felt good about telling him that we were going to come and get the puppy on Monday. We had also explained why we had been waiting so long, so he knew that if Grig didn't get the job that day, that we'd have to wait a little longer, but that we were definitely interested in getting the puppy.

However, yesterday morning, as we walked into church, Grig received a text that told us that the seller had sold the puppy the day before, and someone had just come to pick her up. She was gone.

For the first little while after that, we were baffled. When Grig showed me the text, the impression I got was, "This isn't the end; it's not over," and I felt a lot of peace. He also felt strangely peaceful about it. That didn't stop the barrage of questions and confusion that followed during Sacrament Meeting though.

From LDS.org, link to source

However, as I listened to the speakers, who spoke about Christ's love for us, I focused on what I did know, and made a list. It went something like this:

Faith

• The Lord doesn't lie
• He told Grig in the temple that we were going to get the job and the puppy
• I was told to trust in Grg. 
• I was told the Lord would deliver us if we had faith and patience.
• I felt good about Monday.
• Perhaps, we were told to wait so that we would get the right puppy from someone else, and if we weren't still open to it, we  would have missed the opportunity.

Grig looked at my list, and added:

• This may be another test for us and the owner of the puppies. Do we really want to be faithful, hopeful, and charitable?  

After church ended, I was feeling better, but I still didn't fully understand. I did feel however, that if we continued to have patience and faith that things would work out.

I told Grig's brother Allopex about what had happened. He told me he'd had a similar experience before, and he related it to me. He had received an answer that involved someone else, but because of the other person's choices, it hadn't happened. Afterward, he was confused, but the answer he'd received was something like: "Revelation doesn't change, but people can make their own choices."

I was grateful to him for sharing that. It eased my confusion. It is true that the Lord never forces people to do something. He always lets them make their own choices.

It's quite possible that we were meant to have this puppy, but because the seller reneged on our deal and sold it to someone else, that we aren't going to get this particular puppy. However, that doesn't invalidate the Lord's promise to us. The Lord doesn't lie, and I know that we will be guided to know what to do next.

We're just going to wait and see what happens in the next few days.

It should be exciting.