Shea Family Update

The kids enjoying the time at Grandma and Grandpa's house.

Our Baby Shea is getting so big.

Princess Shea our big girl showing me her knee booboo :).

  

Bubby Shea, he is such a handsome guy. Look at those eyes.

   It has been a while since I posted on our blog and thought, it's time for an update on our lives. In Sept of this last year we decided to move our family out to North Dakota. The opportunity arose for my husband to get work in the oil boom that is happening in Williston, ND. However, God had a plan in mind for us that we did not foresee. My husband injured his knee after being out there for only about 2 weeks, so we packed up and headed back to CA so he could have surgery to repair the damage. I have to admit, loading back into the car and heading back to CA was defeating to say the least, but we had faith that God had a plan and would cause all things to work together for His purpose. Cavan was able to get a lead on a job during the short period of time he was out there, which would turn out to be a huge blessing.


   We were able to find a great surgeon and get in quickly for Cavan's knee surgery, but again there was a surprise waiting for us. We had been told in the pr-op consultation that the surgery would be very simple ad recovery would be a short 4 to 6 weeks. When Cavan came out of surgery we were informed that his injury had been worse than the surgeon had anticipated and because of that recovery would be much longer, 3 to 4 months, and during the first 6 weeks Cavan would not be able to put any weight on his leg. This was a huge blow to our plans of Cavan returning to North Dakota for the job he had lined up. But again we prayed through our frustration and tried to place our trust in God's plan for our family. We have been staying with my parents during this recovery time, so that we can save money for our move back out to North Dakota. As we all know, living with anyone is difficult once you are adults and married with a family. This is no different for us and it has been emotionally draining at times, and we have certainly had our grumpy days even weeks. But the pluses are, we got to spend one more winter in the mild California climate and we were able to attend some family functions that we would have been heart broken if we had missed because we were our of state.


   We are not quite at the end of this story yet, but Cavan is at the end of his recovery and God is showing us again how much better His plan is than ours, and that if we simply wait on Him, he does great things for us. The job Cavan had lined up in North Dakota took a while to get their contracts signed and get workers hired initially, so had we stayed there would have been a lot of waiting around for work. However, Cavan has been able to stay in contact with the hiring supervisor and will be all set to begin working once he is cleared and able to return to work. Also, cost of living has become extremely high in Williston due to the oil boom, so initially we had planned to live in different cities to save money. But as time has passed while we are in CA, we have learned that the job he will be doing will not provide much extended time off for Cavan to come see us. This became a concern, since we did not want to throw away upwards of $3,000 month on living expenses, but we also did not want to have to go very long periods of time with out seeing each other.


   So again we prayed, and tried to lean on the knowledge that God has a plan even when we can not see it. And I can say in all honesty I had know idea how He was going to pull this one off, but we waited and let Him show us the way. Well, God always provides for His children and this circumstance was no different. He led us to a housing opportunity that we could not have even hoped for, brand new apartments with the 3 bedrooms and 2 bathrooms we need for our family. The apartments are in Williston, and rent is only about $800 a month because it is income based. We normally would not qualify for this type of housing, but since Cavan is currently on disability our income is lower, we do qualify. The apartments are brand new and just completed their first of 5 buildings at the beginning of this month. The Bible says that God knows the desires or our hearts, and this has proven true; He knew it was important to me to live somewhere nice, that has laundry in the unit and at least 3 bedrooms 2 baths. These apartments fulfill all of our needs and even my wants and all below what we would have paid even to have the family living 5 hours away from Cavan.


  Now I am the first to admit that I am lacking in patience when it comes to life's changes, and I would tend to say my husband is the same. I even felt strongly as soon as we had to return to CA that patience was probably the lesson God was teaching us in this circumstance. I can't quite say that I am "good" at waiting yet, but I have learned that waiting on God is always worth it. I am still eager to get out to North Dakota to get my family settled, but I will wait for all things to come together and for God's timing to be right. This experience has been such a teaching experience for both my husband and myself and it has showed us just how important it is to seek God and follow His plan in all things.


 

Psalm 27:14 (KJV)

 ¹⁴Wait on the LORD: be of good courage, and he shall strengthen thine heart: wait, I say, on the LORD.