Real Stories of Life with God

Ep 39 | A Woman With a Dream Living by the Promises of God

October 19, 2022 Episode 39
Real Stories of Life with God
Ep 39 | A Woman With a Dream Living by the Promises of God
Show Notes Transcript

This conversation with Mandy was so delightful. She and her husband Rushton have embarked on a new adventure, creating a nonprofit called Prepare for Babies, with the mission of walking alongside moms in crisis pregnancy situations as they get back on their feet. I think you will enjoy hearing her talk about the plans and vision of the organization as well their newest little addition to the family. We talk about dreaming with God, carrying the presence of God, busyness and so much more. 

Chelsea Eubank:

Our faith journey is a story unique to each individual and is constantly being written. No two people are identical. No two days are alike, but God is the same. This is the real stories of life with God podcast a place for honest conversations about life and faith. I'm your host Chelsea Eubank. And I'm really glad you're here. Let's jump into today's episode. All right, well, first with all that with a baby. I appreciate you taking the time to talk to me.

Mandy Metzler:

No, I'm excited. Good. Cool.

Chelsea Eubank:

Okay. Tell us a little bit about you. Yeah,

Mandy Metzler:

so it's me and Rushton, we met in high school and dated for five years and got married. We will have been married this upcoming May, we will have been married 12 years, so. And then I have my oldest son Knox. And he's nine. And Luke is seven. And then we have a foster baby Tatum, which is eight months old. So she's the one sleeping

Chelsea Eubank:

is the boss or journey new for you? Is this your first placement is this like you're

Mandy Metzler:

not fostering through the state or anything I just say Foster, because that makes it easier for everyone to understand. But we got her back in March and the march 29, actually. And so we will have had her for six months. At the end of this month. Her mom said boyfriend reached out to us and said, you know my girlfriend's going to be headed for trial. She has her trial starting tomorrow. She they caught us on a Sunday, her trial started on a Monday. And if she's found guilty, by the end of the trial, she's facing 15 to life in prison. And so she just had a baby, she has a three month old and she's scared that the state's going to come and take the baby and you know all the things. And so we just kind of said, you know, well, we'll take care of her. And we didn't know if that would be for just the week during the trial. Or if it would be you know, we didn't know maybe she might get a year in prison and we just, you know, take care of Tatum for a year, or, or what it would be, but she ended up being found guilty and got 17 years no parole. So yeah, so we met her up at the courthouse, we had driven to South Carolina to meet mom cuz she wanted to meet us and see who we were. And it was a really cool encounter, just because we were able to just kind of love on her and she just kind of cried in my arms for it seemed like forever, but it was, you know, probably, I don't know, 10 minutes, but it was just the sweetest, saddest, like mixed emotion, you know, experience that I've been through and, and we got to meet Tatum. And then the day that she was going to be found, you know, guilty or innocent. We met her at the courthouse, and she handed Tatum over to us before she wanted to be found guilty. So that was really hard for her. And of course, she was just super heartbroken. And so we were trying to like, help her any way we could in that experience, then, she just recently told us that she would be fine with us having custody of Tatum, now that we've had her for six months in South Carolina, the roles are a little bit different. So with the laws, so we have had her for six months, and so we're going to be filing for custody soon. So yeah, that's exciting. And it could end in adoption. We're just kind of taking it day by day. And just really want to keep mom's heart guarded as well to like, we really want to consider her and her feelings and her emotions, and we don't want to do anything before she feels ready. So that's kind of

Chelsea Eubank:

Yeah, well, and then that kind of ties into your organization to

Mandy Metzler:

a little bit so that actually happened separate from prepare for babies, but we started dreaming with the Lord about prepare for babies. Oh, February, I guess I just said the beginning of the year, I can't really nail down like a date but the beginning of the year 2021. And we started hearing the Lord say prepare for babies. And so that was kind of just like what we would always say and obviously that's why it's named that but um, so that kind of started back last year. And then the dream kind of progressed into like, Okay, we want to help moms and Crisis Pregnancy situations by like housing them at first First, we were kind of thinking, Okay, we'll help these moms by taking care of their babies while they do whatever they need to do to get on their feet. And then the Lord kind of unveiled the vision even more. And he was like, We want to provide housing for these women, and you're gonna disciple them. And so the new law was passed back in July, that allows for what's called maternity supportive housing residents. So it's not like a state licensed maternity home. The new law allows for nonprofits to basically start this up so that they can house mothers who are in like, you know, crisis pregnancy situations. So it's a really cool, really cool lobby, because up until July, maternity homes could only service women that were 18 and under, and they could only stay for up to six weeks after the baby was born. I mean, we're just talking about that, right? Like you're not even yourself yet. Yeah. You're still healing, like, physically, emotionally been, you know, all the things. And then, so that's so with this new law, they can stay in our house and program up until 18 months. So that gives us a year and a half to really like walk beside them, help them get on their feet, get a job, get, you know, permanent housing, discipleship, mentorship, all those good things. Yeah. Yeah, so but it kind of happened. The thing with Tatum kind of happened all in the same time. So alright, Lord, what, you know, obviously, you're, you're wanting us to have first hand experience. So here we go.

Chelsea Eubank:

Very cool. Okay, so at the top of every conversation, I like to read the verse that kind of inspired to have these questions in Matthew 22, Jesus is asked, which is the great commandment in the law, and he says, You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul. And with all your mind, this is a great and first commandment. And the second is like it, you shall love your neighbor as yourself. So my first question for you is what currently stirs your love for God?

Mandy Metzler:

Oh, I would. There's a couple of things. But you know, currently added that currently word. Like, yeah, that's that narrows it down, I would say for sure. Just what we have going on with prepare for babies, it's just dreaming with God. So like, I love to dream with him, and create with Him and walk beside him. As you know, this is really his vision, but he's like, allowing us to walk beside him and Co Co labor with him. But it's not just labor. Like we think of labor. It's really like, fun stuff to like dreaming and, you know, making connections with the body and reaching out to orphans and widows. And I mean, it's to me, I feel like I'm getting I've had so many different relationships with, you know, like, daughter, and then serve it, and then friend, and then, and right now, it's like, I feel like I'm kind of in this stage of the Lord, where it's like, I'm getting to see a new side of him. And so it grows my love for him, it stirs my love for him, because it's like this, creating with him, kind of side. So that's, that's been probably the most stirring thing, and then watching him fulfill the promises, because he's giving us these things. And we're watching doors being opened. And actually even five lists, you know, four years ago, four years ago, the Lord told both me and my husband separately, that we would have a third baby and so we didn't know if that was like through us or whatever. But then he told my husband that or he rushed in what I always say, I feel like a baby's gonna fall in our laps. I just feel like a baby's not supposed to pursue it. We're not supposed to like pursue, we're not supposed to go through an adoption agency. We're not supposed to a baby's just gonna fall in our laps. And then about a year or two after that, we both separately had the vision for a nursery in our house, one of the rooms in our house was like an office slash junk room. Had a desk in there. So we call it the office, but you know, yeah, but there wasn't much purpose for that room. And so every time we walked by, I'd always see a pink nursery. And, you know, I kind of thought, well, maybe that's just me wanting, you know, girl, I have two boys. Maybe Mark just wants a girl. So I didn't really I kind of pushed it, pushed it down. But then Rushton came to me one night, and he's like, every time I'm sitting in the garage, I just think like, of that room upstairs being a pink nursery. And I was like, Oh, my. So we need to. Yeah, exactly. So we know. We know. It's the Lord when like, we both really feel something. Yeah, separately. And so we did. We created a pink nursery and had no idea that about a year later, a little over a year later, she would fall in our laps.

Chelsea Eubank:

You know what I love about that? Sometimes we get that vision that long term vision and other times we don't we just get the feeling or the thought or the word from the Lord. And it really just takes taking that day, daily step, taking the small step, not really knowing when because I mean, a year is a long time. Right? You know, like, yeah, we're both feeling that and then I, in my mind, that'd be like, Okay, what's gonna happen next week? Right? Yeah, if I'm feeling it on a Tuesday, it's probably going to happen by Friday. But but for you to say, Okay, I kind of have this in my heart. But I'm not going to rush it a that's like major trust or the Lord to not make it happen yourself. Because I fall into that trap. I'm like, Okay, well, if I feel like this is gonna happen or needs to be done, I need to be working it out. I need to be making plans, I need to be doing things to make it happen. And that might not always be the case, you know, it might be a year, but it's not like you got hung up on that. And you were distracted from your day to day life. By having this vision in your heart and your mind. You just said, Okay, that's what we're thinking, you know, it might have been weeks or months before you actually did anything with that room. You just kind of taking it one day at a time, you know, taking steps one at a time and following him and listening to him. And so sometimes we have that long term vision. And other times we just have the one step. Yup, just been taking the one step. So I think that's a really good word.

Mandy Metzler:

And I feel like that has come through times of us, not fully trusting God and learning that lesson. And so like we've just really like learned through trial and error, or you know, what the outside what the world would call failure, but really God's like, No, this is. But we've really learned that and it took a lot,

Unknown:

a lot, a lot of

Mandy Metzler:

strength that I didn't have, but the Lord games need to not go after it myself. We had a we had in that in that waiting, it was probably closer to two years. But in that waiting from when we heard that, too, when we got Tatum, there was another instance where a baby fell in our laps, and we kind of felt like, Oh, this is it. And so like things would happen. And we just had to be super prayerful about it. And, and, you know, in that situation, we kind of felt like, Okay, this could be the will of God, you know, but man has free will. And so some things happened, that, you know, where it didn't work out, but we just kind of like, Okay, Lord, we we still believe that, that you gave us this word. And so we're going to still stand on it. And but yeah, I mean, it would have been a lot easier to just like, go through an adoption agency, or, you know, whatever. But it was, but it's all worth it. For sure. Yeah.

Chelsea Eubank:

Beautiful. Yeah. Okay. On the other side, is there anything that currently stifles your love for God? Yes,

Mandy Metzler:

I love that you ask both of those because it gets real Hmm. So I would say the thing that stifles my love for God would be a product of that would be busyness, like just this, the staying busy. And that for me, that's always hard. Like, I'm just my mind's always, you know, go go go, I have to have a to do list. Well, I really have like, 15 to do lists every day. One for mom, one for work, one for you know, there's just like, it's never ending. But I think just a lot of the times the Lord's he'll tell me, sometimes several times that I have to rest I have to just kind of stop. Like, in dreaming, there's times when you just sit and dream, you know, like that there has to be time for that. And then recently, he's been speaking to me about carrying the presents and how when King David had the Ark of the Covenant brought back, you know, to the city of David then that it was carried by he was so quick to have it returned. He was like, alright, build oxcarts and have it returned. And you know, it the oxen stumbled, and then as it reaches out to stabilize, or steady, the ark, and he's like, immediately drops dead. And so I just wrestled with the Lord about that. And he was like, it was never meant to be carried by ox carts. It was never meant to be carried by, you know, a cart or animals or anything is all my presence is always meant to be carried by my people. And it was the Levites that were supposed to carry it. And so I just feel like in worship and in the presence of God is where we're really supposed to be and where we're really everything comes out of that. Like, everything comes out of abiding in Him. And so, we know that but then we have to do like work it out in our lives and like practice it and do it. And so that's it's easy for me to just be like, Okay, this needs to be done next, and then we're doing this and you know, especially is setting up a whole nonprofit, but it's like from the ground up, you're just building it. So it gets to be very, very busy. And people, you know, we're making meetings, or we're making connections, and we're fundraising and we're doing all the things in the Lord's like that member. Like, it's not going to be anything unless you can carry my presence. You're just laboring in vain if I'm not building the house, you know. And so that's the constant reminder. And part of busyness is like your phone is the devil. But like, AI isn't as great as a phone is, and it's Yeah, I hear you. It's just, I tell you what it can steal, it can steal your attention really quickly. And I'll be the first to admit to that. So

Chelsea Eubank:

yeah. What did you just say just now. You can do all the things, but it's not going to be anything. Unless you. Oh, my goodness, that just strikes me. I guess, because everything culture, everything in myself tells me that bigger is better. That more eyeballs on it makes it more important, right? When more people see me do something, it means that it's more meaningful. When I do more means I'm being more meaningful, or more valuable or something. And, and if I'm if I'm not doing it with him, or if I'm not open to him, or then it's really just flat. Yeah. Right. And sometimes that carrying the presence of the Lord is a lot slower. And it's a lot more gradual. And it's not as quick and it's not as visible. Exactly. And, you know, I just think we get caught up in like, you know, he isn't the dream. Other things are the dream, right? And he so dearly, deeply wants to be the most precious thing to us, you know, and he wants to be the dream of our lives. And anyway,

Mandy Metzler:

yeah, because we're so precious to him. And yes, like, I just want you to feel the same way about me that I feel about you. And then when you realize that, oh, man, what am I even doing? Yeah.

Chelsea Eubank:

Because like and what you said to was, especially girls, nonprofit in our ministry, and if he's after hearts, right, then, yes, some of those logistical details are very important. Where are we going to put them? How are we going to do it, we wanted to, we want to do it with excellence. We want to do it by caring for people we want to we, there's wisdom, in preparation, there's wisdom and work, there's wisdom in doing all the things. But it almost is like, as much as I have the energy that I'm working, I need to have a little bit more energy and abiding, you know, yes, like, as much as I'm doing that still needs to be surpassed by that. Because if he's after hearts, ultimately, then all the logistical work is kind of just stepping stones for the bigger, better, more significant work that he really does want you to even be part of it. In the beginning, at all, you know.

Mandy Metzler:

Exactly, exactly. And the enemy can, that's his, like, for me, it's like, well, the enemy isn't going to, like, tempt me with, you know, drugs or stealing or not, you know, things like that, you know, these these real obvious, like outward sins, He's going to tend to be with busyness. And because I might even, like you said, have outward fruit of things like, Oh, we've, you know, gotten, you know, done this with the ministry or, you know, we've contacted this many moms or, you know, whatever, we've helped this many moms, but then I might go home and be very short fused, and be all the opposite of the of the fruit that we shouldn't. And so really, that's how you judge a tree by its fruit. You know, it's like that in like, what, when no one else is looking like what's happening. And so when I get super busy, or I get super, you know, or just, I'm not spending enough time with the Lord, it's like, I can always feel it. It's like building up I can feel a I have to, I have to spend that time with him

Chelsea Eubank:

with you. Okay, the truth that God is blank means a lot to you because, like,

Mandy Metzler:

so I would, I would say the truth that God is both faithful and a promise keeper means a lot to me because it just means that I can rely on him like when when if all else fails, you know, and which which it all will all everything well he's just faithful and he's a promise keeper. And but I think that's so important, so important for us to be seeking out the promises of God like what are his promises to us? If we don't know the promises, then what do we even have to look forward to or to prove that he is a promise keeper? And so like that is just like in comes from your communicate like the The relationship the communication with God, and then also not just coming to him just to ask for things, but to say like God, what are your promises ever me? What are your promises over my kids? That's like a big one for me, like, What are you saying about my kids? But he's saying about me and me and rushed in what you know, what do you have planned for our family, but then also like, just, you know, tell us who we are. And, you know, and meditating on those things. And it's things that we have see and hear in the Bible, but then there's also fresh revelation that we can get that God's sharing with us, like he shared with us, a baby's gonna fall in your lap. So you know, so we knew that was God. And then he kept he kept his promise. And so, a lot of times, like you said, if it's not instant, we're like, Well, you didn't keep your promise, and where are you and we get frustrated, but it's that having that trust in that. Like, we have to commit ourselves to be just as faithful to Him as He is to us. And I just think that that's so important for us to be seeking out what promises he's given to us specifically, you know, you know, I can go through and say all the things, but then I got also want things that you are promising over me and my family specifically, and dreams that you have for us specifically, so that I can be praying and speaking those things, as if they were so just watching him. Just keep his promises. And then yeah, I have promises that haven't been fulfilled yet. Yeah. He shared he shared with me when my firstborn when I was pregnant with my firstborn, he has what's called Fragile X syndrome. And we found out when he was in the womb, and, and so when I was pregnant, I felt the Lord say, I'm going to heal him. And so I was like, Oh, awesome. Oh, good. You know, we won't have you know, we will have all that, you know, craziness or all the stress or whatever, but, and so I was really excited. And then it kind of came later, he was like, I'm going to heal him. But it's not going to be immediate. It's going to be a slow, gradual healing. And then we would have people come to us, we had this one guy come to us, on the beach, somewhere, and he was a stranger, and he was sitting behind us. And he said, I have to tell you that God's speaking about your son, and I'm like, what does he say? He shared with us, he's like, your son is going to be healed. And I just burst into tears, because that's just confirmation for me. I already knew that, that he said, he is going to be healed. And everyone will ask how, you know what happened? How was he healed, and he will give the glory to God. And so that was super exciting for me like that. He said, the doctors will even ask, how did this happen? You know, was it diet? Was it medicine? Was it this? Is it that and that Knox would give the glory to God? So I'm still standing on that promise that he would be fully healed? And so yeah, that's one thing that like, you know, I'm waiting for so some promises I've seen and some I'm still waiting to be fulfilled, but they will

Chelsea Eubank:

be Yeah. I like that you put the promise keeping and faithfulness together, though, because it helps when you haven't seen it yet to still trust the nature of God. You know, like, I haven't seen this one yet. But I know that you can't not be faithful to me, right? So I'm not going to be I'm going to resist the temptation to be discouraged or disappointed or anxious about this not happening. Yep. Yet, by saying that you cannot be good to me. You can't not be kind to me, you can't not be faithful. You can't not do what you have said you will do. Exactly. You know, I think that's huge. I mean, it takes it's like a muscle though it takes practice it takes to have habitual, like reminding and preaching to ourselves and practicing that trusting, you know, but, but it is possible. It is yeah.

Mandy Metzler:

Yeah. And just having that open communication with the Lord. Like I'm doubting right now. I'm doubting I'm upset right now. And I feel like it's not going to happen. But I need you to help me. Like he said, build that muscle in my mind, to know that you are faithful and you are good, and then you just start speaking you know what he is and it gets your attention off all that doubt everything. But I think being real and open and honest with he already knows how we feel. He already knows what's in our heart. He already he just was he honestly just wants us to share it with them.

Chelsea Eubank:

Yeah, yeah. Okay, my last question is, what is the thing you're looking forward to?

Mandy Metzler:

Um, I would say for sure the opening of our, you know, maternity supportive housing. That's going to be awesome. And we are currently in the process of securing some land that is being donated. I'm telling you, God's just been opening doors left and right. So we are in that process, and then we'll be We're raising the funds to build the first cottage, in the first cottage, we'll be able to house three mothers and their babies, along with a house mother that will be that will live on site. So she'll be 24/7. And then part of the vision, Rushton had a dream one night to get this, you know, whole vision, but he saw that we, it was on a huge piece of property. And the cottages were in the front, and he said that there was just babies everywhere. And then our house is actually actually on the back of the property. So, we are actually looking into, like, for possibly going to be moving as soon as, so that we can be close that we can be on site, you know, close enough to be there when when needed, but then, you know, on the back of the property that kind of still have our Yeah, you know, family home life. But, um, so that's exciting. I'm looking forward to that. I'm looking forward to watching that be fulfilled and watching the first moms walk in our door, and helping them and mentoring them. And I mean, they're going to be such a blessing to us. Yeah,

Chelsea Eubank:

I can't wait. That's gonna be so cool. Yeah, man, I'm so excited. And thank you for making the time again, this conversation was amazing.

Mandy Metzler:

Thank you for asking me to do this. This is awesome. And we really just do want to share the vision, you know, just put it out there and let people catch it and everyone has their own talents and giftings and whatever it is that they can contribute. So we really just want to get it out there and let everyone be a part of it.

Chelsea Eubank:

Listening friends, it means a lot that you added us to your day today. Thank you. Wherever you find yourself on your journey with Jesus. I hope you finished this episode with your faith inspired, refreshed or strengthened