more left unseen

This might be the best blog ever. For quite a while we have wanted to write down all of the crazy things that God has done in our lives. It will be a long list, and some will seem bigger than others, but we hope it can bless you and encourage you to have faith in the God who is bigger than we can even comprehend. Thank you Jesus for blessing us in such extravagant ways!
This is a two part post. The first part will be on Valentine’s day because it tells of our amazing love story. So here is part two.

The “I” is Darin.

In 2002 I had graduated from Manchester with a degree in Elementary Education. However, instead of going into education I worked for the Fellowship of Christian Athletes. At that time I did not apply for my teaching license. All I would have had to do was sign a paper and mail it in, but I clearly felt God tell me not to get the license because it would be making a “back-up plan.” I knew that if I were to stay where God had called me, I would not need a teaching license. God told me to trust him, so I did.

In July of 2007 God revealed to us that I should leave my job as youth pastor at the Community Church of Waterford. I wasn’t sure what I was to do, but I earnestly prayed and continually read my Bible. Adie had just been born and Darcy had just quit her job to be a stay at home mom. As July ended God made it clear to me that I was to focus on ministry through speaking and coaching and to flip houses to earn money. This was also the time that the housing market was beginning to crumble. I knew that quitting my job and leaving our family with no income would be about the most irresponsible thing I could do…except for the fact that God wanted me to. I’ll never forget the night in August when God asked me how committed to him I was. I realized the financial danger that I was placing my family in, and I realized that it made no “worldly” sense. God asked me if I was willing to follow him even if it cost me my family. If my decision would lead us to a place where Darcy and Adie could no longer be with me, would I still follow Him. I’ll never forget tucking Adie in bed that night and crying because I knew that I was risking a lot. It was even harder as I kissed Darcy that night. However, I told God that I would follow Him no matter what. I felt like Abraham when he was asked to sacrifice Isaac. Thankfully God blessed me with an amazing wife who like Isaac stood beside me as we stepped out in faith.

During the entire remodel process I was saved from injury. I never got sick and I never got any injury that kept me from working. Due to complications with the purchase of our flip house, we did not actually close on it until December when I was finished with the remodel. This means that we did not have to pay a mortgage for 4 months.

For 6 months we did not receive a pay check. During that time, every time our money was about to run out something would happen. In December Darcy received a bonus check even though she wasn’t currently working at that company. In February we received a bill that we could not pay. Two days later we got our tax return and were able to pay the bill.

At every turn God provided for us. God blessed us through Mike and Tara Overpeck in a big way. As we were struggling to buy food, they showed up one night with 6 meals. We were also given left-overs every week from a family meal that my Grandmother cooked.

In December Darcy told me that she felt that God was telling me to be a teacher. So, without a teaching license, I met with the principal at Fairfield. He informed me that there was in fact an opening teaching Emotionally Disturbed students and that he had been praying for someone to fill the position. In January I interviewed and was hired in February. This meant that I had to scramble to get my license. I needed to take 6 hours of courses. These courses needed to be completed before I could be hired in February. I found an online program that offered math courses. I called them and was allowed to enroll in two courses. The hand of God was in the process because I entered the courses 2 days AFTER they had started, and the classes had already been classified as “full.” The next hurdle was getting my Special Education License. I only had a few classes to take through Manchester, but they didn’t offer any on-line or weekend classes. I had a wonderful counselor who got very creative and allowed me to transfer online courses from another college into Manchester! After taking 3 of the 4 courses that I needed, I was told that my last course would not work. I was told that I would need to do “student teaching.” This was devastating to me because it would mean that I would have to quit my teaching job so that I could do student teaching. This would not be a possibility for our family, so it seemed as if my teaching career would come to an abrupt stop. At the last possible moment God came through again and it was discovered that I had already fulfilled this requirement. God had come through and blessed me for the decision to trust in him and not get my license those 5 years earlier.

Darcy had been praying that she could do something at home to help our family make money. She then started Darcy Holsopple Photography. The business has been continually growing and God has blessed us with our spending money. She has been able to meet many new people and has provided the cushion in our budget.

One Sunday our pastor challenged us to Out-Give. The economy was pretty tough and I was convicted to give away a valuable piece of wood working equipment that I had inherited from my father. I was hoping that it could be a blessing to someone else, and I felt that God was asking me trust him with my finances. About a week later I had a support board fail in my shop. A single 2x4 saved my table saw by balancing several thousand pounds of wood and not dropping it on the saw. The disaster that God saved me from was much more valuable than what I had given away.

One day we decided to get a new couch. Darcy had saved enough from her photography to buy one so we decided to replace our second hand couches that Darcy bought 7 years ago. We went to a store, found what we wanted, but decided to wait because they weren’t on sale. Two days later Darcy prayed that we would be good stewards, then looked on Craig’s List and then found the exact couch, with a recliner for ½ the price!

Like I said, some may seem bigger than others, but they all serve to remind us that God is in control. God does not promise “health, wealth, and happiness” but when we put our trust in Him, we will NOT be disappointed.

Make sure you check back in on Sunday to see part 1 of our story...