More From T. L. Valluy

This past October, we got new landlords who decided that they did not want to rent to us—or anyone—anymore. They were selling the apartment and gave us six months to move out. We explained that we had two school-aged children and asked if we could perhaps have three more months so that they could finish the school year. But no, no we could not. Six months and out, period.

So not only would we be moving smack dab in the middle of the school year, we’d also be moving in the middle of a pandemic. Moving at all, even when desired, is stressful. But being forced out by capricious new landlords was infuriating.

I instantly did several things. I began to pray daily blessings upon our new landlords; I knew I had to get rid of the anger against them in my heart. I put my family on our church’s prayer chain, claiming God’s promise in Romans 8:28 of working for good in all things. I fasted, helping myself to keep my eyes on the Lord. And I took to reciting Jeremiah 29:11, “‘For I know the plans I have for you,’ declares the Lord, ‘plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future’” (NIV).

Housing in the Paris area is always hard to find. We couldn’t deal with our kids’ schooling until we knew where we’d be living, but because of the pandemic, visiting places was extremely difficult.

God loves me. God has good plans for me, for me and my family. God is going to work this out. Victory is the Lord’s. These are the things I reminded myself over and over as the months ticked by and we still could not find a new place to live. A non-Christian friend asked me how was I able to stay so calm; I told her it was only with Jesus.

Then, sure enough, God provided us with a wonderful new home at just the right time, one month before our deadline. We were able to move over the February school vacation, which allowed our kids to stay in their current schools for as long as possible; it also took away the stress of having to settle in over just one weekend.

Victory is the Lord’s, and God is good, all the time. God is not only the Master Builder, but is the Master Fixer too.