We toured around in our rented convertible, soaked up sun on the beach, revelled in the sights of Busch Gardens, and laughed at the kissing seals performing at Sea World.
When we returned to southeast Saskatchewan, we had a home waiting for us. Kim had rented a house trailer and moved it onto an empty lot in the town of Macoun, 20 minutes from Estevan. It arrived in a filthy mess, but my mother-in-law and my sister-in-law lovingly scrubbed it clean and moved our wedding gifts inside. It was a comfortable home, but only temporary, as Kim had already started building us a new home on an acreage a few miles outside of Macoun.
The fun and spontaneity of our honeymoon life faded quickly as we settled into the reality of our new lives in rural Saskatchewan. That was when the familiar cloud of concern rolled back in. Even though we lived under the same roof, our days were consumed with our individual work lives. Kim worked long hours on the farm and whenever possible worked on the building of our new house. By September, I was completely consumed with the demands of my first teaching job, so I left all of the decisions about the house with Kim. I felt guilty about not helping more with house decisions, but staying on top of daily teaching lessons plus coaching volleyball left little time or head space for house details. All I could do was pray for Kim and hope that God would give him wisdom to make good choices.
We had only been married six months when we moved into our brand new two thousand square foot ranch-style home on our acreage in a bare field. Our windows peered out to nothing but dirt and a water well. The inside was just as sparse since we barely had enough furniture for one of the rooms.
It didn’t take long to move our few belongings into our new home. Life in the trailer had been cozy and close. I wondered if life would be as good in the new spacious home outside of town. When I got home from school, I wandered aimlessly from one freshly painted room to the next, trying to bask in the luxury of this huge blessing.
It’s so big and beautiful, but it’s empty and cold. Not a neighbour in sight. How will we stay close to each other in this house?
The threat of losing desired closeness with my new husband loomed in my mind as I tried to adjust to our new home in the country. I attempted to push all of the clouds of uncertainty away with prayer.
Dear Lord, I pray for Your blessing over our new home out in the country, in the bare field. Even though it is brand new and huge, it seems kind of empty and lonely. I pray that it will start to feel like a home, not just a house, as we get more settled. Lord, You know that I am just barely keeping my head above water with my teaching job, and I feel bad about not helping more with the house details. I thank You, Lord, for all of the knowledge about houses You have given to Kim and for all of the good decisions he has made. I also thank You for all of the help we have received from family to build and finish it. I pray that You would be honoured in our marriage and in our lives in this new house. Continue to bless us as a team of husband and wife in our new home, I pray. Amen.
Once again, my worries were in vain as life on the acreage became satisfying in a different way. We invested in new furniture, one piece at a time. We planted grass and hundreds of trees, and our farmyard began to take shape. With both of us making a good income we had no financial concerns. We made large payments on our mortgage and planned to have the home paid for in five years. It felt like we were getting established and would live there forever.
We’re getting there, God. We’re starting to find strength as a couple.
Little did we know that there would be many more homes, in many different places, and many more clouds in our future lives together. Change would come in the most unexpected ways, and our barely adjusted marriage in our new home in the country would be challenged to the core.
Your Story:
Uncertainty
Thinking Back
• How did your first experience of living with a partner come about?
• How did you find or choose your first home with your partner?
Thinking Inward
• Did you have any worries or fears about what life would be like as you started living together?
• How were decisions about life choices made now that you were living as partners? Did you feel a sense of peace in your first home together?
Thinking Outward
• Did your relationships with family members or friends change as your living situation changed? Did they provide any support for you?
• Did life expenses or joined finances transition smoothly or create conflict? Did you receive any guidance around joint finances?
Thinking Forward
• As you look around your home today, does it reflect influences of the past, or is your home an indication of future goals and plans?
• What is your greatest hope for your living situation in the future?
Write a Prayer: Commit your concerns and your desires for your living situation to God and ask Him for His blessing in your home.
Dear Heavenly Father,
You know the intimate thoughts, concerns, and regrets of every reader. You see and understand the sadness or pain that may be there due to complex issues of relationships and living situations. I pray, dear Lord, that You would comfort and heal all sorrow or wounds that this reflection may bring up. I pray over the homes that they live in, and I ask for Your peace and Your presence to prevail. As we envision our next home, we pray that every room will be “filled with rare and beautiful treasures” of knowledge that comes from You.
In Your name, amen.
“By wisdom a house is built,
and through understanding it is established;
through knowledge its rooms are filled
with rare and beautiful treasures.”
Proverbs 24:3–4
Chapter 6
Overwhelmed
I stared in awe at the tiny pointy-headed creature that had been placed in my arms. The birth, long and severely painful, left me doubting if my body would ever function normally again. All those books I read had not prepared me for this experience.
No one told me it would feel like this. Maybe I should have waited longer, or maybe I would never have been ready.
It was our plan from the beginning to wait five years before we started a family, and we stuck to the plan. Five busy but fulfilling years passed by like a movie scene in fast-forward. Kim was working long hours farming and playing competitive fastball most weekends. I was enjoying my teaching career and my contract work with the Saskatchewan Ministry of Education, writing curriculum and training new French teachers. We weren’t at all sure that we were ready, but soon after our fifth anniversary, I became pregnant.
The pregnancy passed without sickness or any other issues. I was blessed with good health the full nine months despite being very tired with the demands of full-time teaching. I didn’t have a lot of time to think about the huge change coming to our lives, which was probably for the best.
On May 23, 1987, our son Kolby Corray
