About 3 years ago, I started this blog site with a blog entitled, "Starting Over in the Same Place." Now, here I sit thinking I should call this entry "Starting Over in a Different Place".
In case you are just tuning in, we have moved to North Carolina. God wanted us here and so we came. It's been an adventure to say the least! We were blessed with 23 friends who all pitched in to help us move FROM North Dakota. When we got to North Carolina, we were a little concerned with who would help us move our stuff in. We know only one friend here. We called about having a moving company move our furniture in for us. $650 for 2 movers for 2 hours. WHAT? No thanks. We'll do it ourselves...with our one friend, and her husband. So, we prayed hard that God would fight this battle for us. A 26 foot trailer full of heavy furniture to be carried in uphill was not something we had energy for at this point. Our friend and her husband invited a few of their friends...friends with muscles! An old Thrive friend, who lives an hour away, decided to drive out and help us, too. Okay, so this is looking good. Michael called the seminary to see if there were any young strapping students who might be interested in making some money to help us move furniture. Throughout the evening 5 of those students showed up to help us. All at times when our other helpers were getting tired and weak.
I'm here to say that God fought this battle not FOR us...but right beside us. Shouldering most of the weight on His shoulders. God showed up that night in the form of several amazing people with strong hands and backs to move our furniture and boxes.
God met our need. In a big way.
But talking to the seminary students, they said through us God met their financial needs as well. One of the students had been praying that day for a little money to help him with his rent. Another student was praying for gas money to take his new bride on an anniversary trip. We were able to pay them just what they needed by the work they did for us. Isn't God just SO good?
He has consistently shown me His goodness in this whole crazy journey we have been on lately. I love journeys with God. They are my new favorite thing. I'm also learning that these journeys are not always "easy" or what we always consider "good", but they are good for me.
We've been here about a week now. Within this week, there has been a whirlwind of change and emotions I've had to confront. A good friend from North Dakota died suddenly and unexpectedly..grief; my dad had major surgery I couldn't be home for, fear; my children are homesick, sadness; trying to unpack to get our lives feeling normal, unsettled; making new friends, excitement; trying to learn my way around a bigger town, confusion. Emotionally I'm spent. What a journey this week. But through all the change, my God has remained constant.
I surrender to Him every morning when I get up. I ask Him what He requires of me today. And He is there right beside me every day to help me do whatever needs to be done. All I can say is God is good. I don't think I'll ever be able to say any different.
