Big Changes Pt. 2

Back in this post I told you about our new plans.

What I didn't tell you was that for the last year we had been praying about and planning on moving to Gainesville, FL. You see, after returning home from the conference we knew we had to go somewhere to be a part of an organic church. And we knew that Jesus was inviting us to go to Gainesville.

But there was a catch.

We had no way of getting there. (read: absolutely no money)

So we prayed and waited. And along came New York Life Insurance. The beauty of RC's new career is the ability to do it anywhere in the U.S.. The bummer was that it was gonna take months to get liscensed and trained. But we prayed some more and felt confident moving forward with NYL. And in January 2010 he started.

Throughout this journey we had the companionship of another family. They, like us, had attended the conference and left with the same desire and plans. (no, not everyone that attended the conference left feeling that way. We were actually the only ones.) They, also like us, needed funds and NYL was the ticket for them as well. But they also had another trick in the bag. They owned their home. So in May they listed their house and sold it within a week. Seriously.

And at the end of July they were leaving A-town in a huge moving van headed for Gainesville. And we were still in A-town, absolutely no closer to leaving. It was hard. Honestly, it easily ranks in my top 5 of hardest things ever gone through.

We knew we couldn't stay in A-town alone. We needed others and so we made a few contacts with people in The City. And we started to get excited. What if we could figure out a way to move to The City instead. Surely that was more doable than moving across the country. So we talked to people. My parents, the organic church in The City, RC's parent's, our friends in Gainesville and all of a sudden we were making some changes.

And then God dropped a bomb.

We recieved an anonymous gift specifically for moving to Gainesville. (read: no move, no gift) And we were back on our knees. But we didn't stay there long bc in our minds the gift wasn't enough to actually make the move. We still needed more. So we prayed on the go. You know: kept moving in our direction while occasionally asking God what He wanted. The problem with praying on the go is that we rarely take the time to listen for His answer.

And the weekend we planned to move in with my parents Bobo ended up in the hospital. Well, if we weren't gonna stop to listen I guess God was gonna stop us. But it still seemed impossible.

Then we had an idea. Maybe we could use the gift for an extended vacation in Gainesville. You know, put our stuff in storage and just go hang out with our friends from A-town for a month. And for about three days we liked this idea. But something still wasn't right.

And then the rain from the hurricane landed our way and we were delayed once again in moving in with my parents. And that's when we got real.

Christ made it clear that it was not His will for us to just take an extended vaca. (read: no MOVE, no gift) He is worth more than that and He was asking us to make a commitment. To trust Him and go where He had invited us to go. And as we opened our hearts to Him the puzzle pieces started to fall into place.

Does our plan look like something akin to the 'American Dream'? Not at all. Many people would say we are crazy and taking steps backward. But if you truly believe what our Lord says, then no earthly or temporary thing is worth missing out on Him. We are moving to Gainesville at the end of this month. The things of true value are always worth great cost.

But that is why their value is TRUE.

We are moving in with our A-town friends and RC will start working right away using his non resident FL liscense. And we will go from there...

Bridget

*I in no way mean to imply that Christ is only in Gainesville. We all know that is not true. What I am saying is that moving there is what Christ is asking of US. And I am encouraging you to accept whatever invitation He is offering you. It is worth whatever it costs you. ALWAYS. Because it is always more of HIM. And He is worth more than riches untold.

"and the things of earth grow strangely dim in the light of His glory and grace."