Testimony 5 - Joshua Ivany [London, ON]

God is teaching me to trust Him more and more everyday. Over the past few months there have been many difficult times where my wife Jenn and I have stressed out because things weren't working out job wise. I worked as a security guard at the Centre of Hope which is a homeless shelter in London. I did not like this job. For those of you who know me, I'm not the most intimidating guy so there were times when it was difficult to lay down the law. I even got punched in the face which was an interesting experience. On top of all of this I was only working 16 hours a week so it was difficult to pay the bills. Jenn can't legally work right now so things were challenging for a while. I knew that God had a plan and that He wouldn't leave us stranded but there were times when I wanted to know the plan. Jenn and I had no choice but to trust. Every single day for over 6 months I prayed that God would increase my faith. We didn't lose hope and now things are going great. I have a full time job looking after 2 boys. My brother likes to call me a Manny. Their father died when the were babies so it's been amazing to encourage these boys, laugh with them, and wrestle with them which is by far their favourite activity. As hard as the past few months were, I feel like my level of faith has grown immensely.

In proverbs chapter 3 it says "Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding, in all of your ways acknowledge Him and He will make your path straight." God was teaching me how to completely let go and teaching me how to trust in Him with all of my heart. A lot things didn't make sense to me which was scary but God doesn't want us to lean on our own understanding, He wants us to lean entirely on Him. If we do this and keep Him as our main focus in all that we do and say, He will make our path straight. This sounds like a pretty good deal to me. God knows our every move, He won't leave us or abandon us, we just need to learn how to let go and let Him take control.

I am so blessed! I have been married to Jennifer Lauren for over 8 months. She is without a doubt the most beautiful woman inside and out that I have ever met. I fall in love with her more and more every day. Sometimes I find it hard to believe that I'm married but I honestly couldn't imagine life any other way. I love waking up in the morning and seeing Jennifer, I love staying up late with her and laughing. I want to be the best husband possible. I want to encourage her, lift her up, and cover her. It's a sweet deal being married to your best friend!!!