But blessed is the one who trusts in Me alone; the Eternal will be his confidence. He is like a tree planted by water, sending out its roots beside the stream. It does not fear the heat or even drought. Its leaves stay green and its fruit is dependable, no matter what it faces. Jeremiah 17:7-8 Voice

I have heard miracles of God’s provision my entire life. This is how Mom and Dad lived – trusting completely in how God would make a way, confident of the certainty of miracles and testifying to His goodness in their lives.

One of my favorite stories happened during the beginning of their relationship and marriage. Dad was concerned because he didn’t have a job and they didn’t have an apartment where they could live once they were married. He prayed and set out to walk to Angelus Temple. As he was walking by one of the apartments on Glendale Boulevard, the landlady was placing a For Rent sign in the window. He talked to her immediately and was able to rent the apartment.

“You see, this was during the war and housing was very scarce. Your Mom was working in one of the church offices and I was doing whatever I could find to do until we were given a church. This was the beginning of a life where we trusted the Lord and He always provided more than we needed,” he explained when asked.

They were married on Easter Sunday after the evening service. Due to the war there was a city-wide blackout that night so the 5,000 attending the service had to wait until the warning was lifted. Meanwhile, there were no blackout curtains for the room where Mom was changing so they kept singing special songs and waiting for her to come out. Sister Aimee Semple McPherson performed the ceremony and they had a small reception afterwards.

They always lived in the parsonage of the church where they were pastors or in the housing provided by the missions department. When they decided to retire and come back to the States they rented a very small apartment behind one of the homes close to The House on the Hill in Los Angeles, California. Then, they moved up to Woodland, California where Mom inherited a little house there from her mother. At one point I was trying to convince Mom and Dad to move down to Southern California. Mom wouldn’t budge because she didn’t feel it was God’s will. We asked a contractor to take a look to give us an idea of how much it would be to make some repairs. He fell in love with my parents and brought a work crew to completely remodel the little house. This allowed Mom to live there until her final move to Heaven in 2010.

At age 99, Dad moved to live with my sister and her husband. At one point they moved into the parsonage of the church they were pastoring because it was one-story and had a separate living area for him. They sold their home and lovingly cared for him. When they resigned from this pastorate, the church graciously said that they could live there as long as Dad was still living. He trusted God to supply every need and up to his last breath he had abundant provision.

Longevity Secret #25:

Keep a positive outlook when going through difficult times because your faith will grow if you hurry up and trust God to make a way. You can be confident that He will provide because He has never failed before.

This post is part of the Write 31 Days 2019 challenge. Click here to find more longevity secrets.

Author, speaker, corporate trainer, ordained minister and Hope Catalyst, Karen Sebastian enjoys sharing her rich life experiences with others – engaging them in adventurous discoveries of the beauty of hope in a dark, cloudy world. Her books will inspire you to embrace hope no matter what you are going through. As a caregiver and widow she took brave steps forward to fulfill God’s calling on her life. She has now remarried and enjoys her new hubby and spending time with their children and grandchildren. To increase hope and improve relationships with yourself and those that you love, check out her Facebook page – The Power of Hope.