Rain or Shine

Even our best laid plans are no match for God’s plan. You carefully plot out every little detail, and how things will unfold, then you’re thrown into a situation you never foresaw.
And the only way to navigate it successfully is to trust that God can take that situation and use it for good. 

This reality is something Bruce and Annie Strelow have faced time and again. Though there were certainly moments of confusion, doubt, or despair, they kept their eyes on one thing: God’s sovereignty.

I first met Annie Strelow when I started an internship at Christ Kitchen in the summer of 2023. Annie has been a volunteer there for years, and I was ecstatic when I learned that we attended the same church. Since then, I have had the opportunity to get to know Annie and Bruce well.

They moved to north Spokane from Minneapolis in 2015. Bruce had accepted a job here after the loss of their daughter, Julie.

“God puts you where you’re best suited and where He feels you should be,” Bruce says. “We got the point that we had to trust that that particular spot [the Monroe district] is where He wanted us to be.”

Since moving here, the Strelows have been very involved in the community and at Faith Bible Church. Now retired, Bruce sings in the church choir, and Annie still volunteers at Christ Kitchen, where both of them come alongside the women in the job training and discipleship program, often inviting them into their home.

Moving to Spokane “was God working in our lives, and [we’re] very thankful for having the chance to go someplace different and move out here,” Bruce says.

A better plan

It is clear that God has been at work in the Strelows’ lives, but sometimes it’s hard to see God at work when you’re in the thick of it.

Annie says she and Bruce had a “great” plan for their future when they first got married. After the repeated disappointment of not being able to have children, they sat down at the dinner table and decided to stop, wait, and see what God said.

“Not my plan,” Annie says. “No, we had a whole other plan—how it was going to be. But it’s okay, God’s plan turned out a lot better for us.”

They had moved to Davenport, Iowa, for Bruce’s internship, and Annie applied for a job at Catholic Services. They called her in for an interview at 6:30 p.m. and asked that her husband come too, which was odd to Annie. Lo and behold, her application had “accidentally” been placed in the special-needs-adoption pile. The woman at Catholic Services had encouraged them to come in for the interview anyway.

“We had a whole other plan—how it was going to be. But it’s okay, God’s plan turned out a lot better for us.” Annie Strelow

The Strelows attended several meetings and eventually applied to adopt. Those adoptions fell through, but a social worker later approached them about adopting 5-year-old twins, a boy named Kevin and a girl named Cori.

You know the children you are supposed to adopt when you see them, Annie says. She and Bruce had that feeling when they saw the twins. They visited them several times to learn about them and their past family situation, which had been “horrendously abusive.”

During one visit, Kevin showed them an art project he was working on. Annie remembers, “Kevin had cut out these three hearts in kindergarten out of construction paper…and he had written on those hearts, ‘Mom, Dad, Cori and Me’ and ‘I love you.’” Cori also had an immediate connection with Bruce. “Cori plopped on Bruce right away!”

After the paperwork was settled, the Strelows became parents. The road to parenthood had taken many unexpected turns, but God knit the family together in His perfect timing. Still, the new parents faced some challenges.

Having originally come from a dysfunctional family, the twins had some behavioral issues. They had been placed with another family since they were 2 1/2, and those guardians, who had eight children of their own, had become tired. Cori also had mental and physical disabilities that largely went untreated. She had had surgery for her spastic legs, which stripped enough muscle and nerve to prevent her from walking by herself. The doctor told the Strelows that if he had known that she would be placed in a good home, he wouldn’t have stripped as much; he thought she would be stuck in a wheelchair her whole life.

But the Strelows have no regrets bringing Kevin and Cori into their lives.

“People say all the time, ‘Look at troubles as a time to grow closer to God,’ and ‘learn more about God,’ which is true,” Annie said. “You have to keep telling yourself that over and over. Because it’s really easy to whine, and to say, ‘Why, why, why?’”

Many of the behavioral issues went away when they adopted eight-month-old Julie several years later. Julie had several health conditions, which required 24/7 care. Annie explains that Kevin and Cori started to really care for her, focusing more on the whole family rather than themselves.

When Julie was high-school age, the Strelows fostered another girl around the same age who was facing jail time for a felony. Juvenile detention was already overcrowded, and she was placed with them instead of being sent to a women’s penitentiary.

This presented a new set of challenges. They hadn’t known their foster daughter was still using drugs when she came to them, but they helped her get off drugs and through high school. While she had her struggles through adulthood, Annie and Bruce continued to be there for her, helping out with her kids and praying for her.

As parents and foster parents, Annie and Bruce learned about patience, peace, and waiting faithfully.

Pain and peace

When Julie was an adult, she had broken her leg and needed a series of extensive surgeries, and simultaneously caught pneumonia. The Strelows sought guidance from the medical board and church elders when it became clear Julie would not survive the illness and injury. Julie died surrounded by loved ones and with the knowledge that she would be united with Jesus in heaven.

“When Julie died, God gave me total peace,” Annie explains.

When a loved one dies, it is a time of great pain and sorrow. For believers in Christ, however, we have the gift of God’s grace. Even in our suffering, we can be at peace and rest in His shelter.

“You can see how God carried us through and moved us on to the next thing,” Annie concludes.

“There are plenty of needs out there, so you don’t have to worry about trying to find a need,” Bruce added. In other words, there are needs everywhere; fill the ones God has called you to and suited you for.

“God puts you where you’re best suited and where He feels you should be.” Bruce Strelow

Having seen what disadvantaged girls and boys go through, Annie wanted to continue ministering to them. “That’s why I wanted to be part of Christ Kitchen, to work with some of these ladies so that they see they have worth.” Annie wants them to know that God loves them and that He is there for us every day; those truths in the Bible aren’t mere words.

Annie and I worked together on Thursday mornings at Christ Kitchen. Just a month into my internship, I was spearheading our nonprofit’s booth at the Emerson-Garfield Farmer’s Market across the street. Annie offered to help me and another woman set up and tear down, and we gladly accepted. That is how I met Bruce. From the first day I met them both, their servant hearts and humility have inspired me. They have experienced life’s beauty and hardships, choosing to put their faith in God one season at a time. Seeing their example, I have done my best to trust God through the storms and uncertainties.

“Trust in the Lord, what He has planned, rather than what you have planned,” Bruce says. “And sometimes that’s not an easy thing to do. It’s a learning curve.”

Olivia Sandvik

Olivia is a recent graduate of Gonzaga University and loves writing of all sorts. She is involved with Faith's Doxa college ministry.

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