For anyone who has known me/us for any length of time, you know this has been a common phrase. Back in the day when everyone used paper address books instead of an electronic device, I said to “keep us in pencil” as we were likely to have a change of address.I have now moved 19 times in 25 years, many of which were across the country. It’s exhausting just to write that. The first few were right out of college to pursue my career. Getting married resulted in a couple more, then more around the country for the pursuit of my husband’s career advancement. However, the latter ones have been very different. They have been as a result of following God’s direction for our lives—not self-serving or self-promoting, but very purposeful to fulfill our calling/destiny.
Moving was not even something we considered doing again until many years from now when our boys went off to college. After all, we had just made a major move two years prior from CO to MI and had been renovating our house. Yet, suddenly last March, God put something so strongly on both mine and my husband’s heart that caused us to change our thinking. It was like “pulling back” with the lens of a camera to get a wide-angle view – to get a different perspective.
- WHAT: We were led to change schools for our boys, which required us to sell our house so we could move into that specific school district. It was our love for our boys that motivated us to do all of the work of completing the renovations, purging and packing up again. (We still hadn’t completely unpacked from the previous move.) Love was and must always be the motivation—especially with God, because He is love! (1John 4:8)
- WHY: We didn’t know any of the “why’s.” If we did, it would be human intellect and not faith. This was not a religious response of duty, but one of having an intimate relationship with God, hearing Him speak to our hearts, then choosing to act and allowing Him to continually direct our steps. ~Just like we as parents are trying to do with our children, but so much greater.
- IMMEDIATE OUTCOME: God always blesses obedience! Although we moved for our boys, God blessed us with a profit on the sale of our house! Not only did we gain back all of the money we spent on remodeling, but we actually made a profit—even after all of the real estate fees! (That is a story in itself!) Only God could foresee this and accomplish what we experienced! ~The rest of the story is yet to unfold.
- WHERE: We are still in Grand Rapids, MI. We are temporarily renting a condo until a house we want to purchase comes on the market. We are continually being led by our loving Father who knows the future and what is best for us.
I encourage you to get to know Him more intimately! He loves you unconditionally and has a great plan and purpose for your life! Acts 17:28 says, “for in Him we live and move and have our being, as also some of your own poets have said, ‘For we are also His offspring.’”
Lori Snyder