I’ve found myself
reflecting on God’s faithfulness in my life a lot lately. Almost one year ago to the day, I received a
phone call from my husband that drastically changed my life.
I sat sobbing on
our used couch in the quiet darkness of our cozy Nebraska home, thankful that
our two-month-old daughter and two-year-old son hadn’t put up a fight at
bedtime tonight. I didn’t have the
physical or emotional energy to deal with it.
The realization kept washing over me in waves, I was moving to Nowhere,
Illinois…closest Target over one hour in any direction. As I cried I prayed. I prayed God would give me the resolve and
the courage to follow where we felt He was leading—although I was sure He had
to be geographically confused since I had explicitly said Illinois was the last
place I wanted to move.
In the weeks to
follow, I grieved the loss of the good life (that’s a Nebraska reference for my
Illinois friends), and tried to face the reality that I would soon be an
Illinoisan..Illini…does anyone really know what to call people around here?
In those weeks, I
found myself doing a lot of crying and a lot of praying. As I fought to keep life as normal as
possible for a two-year-old whose world had already been turned upside down by
the arrival of the dark-haired attention-stealer we called “Sissy”, I continued
to pray. I prayed as I painted. I prayed as I ripped up carpets, cleaned,
organized, and prepared to sell our house…during a Nebraska winter at Christmas
time. I prayed as I was an exhausted mom
to a newborn and a new potty trainer. I
prayed in the absence of my husband, my teammate. I prayed as we said painful goodbyes to our
church family and the place where we’d grown as a family. I prayed as I said goodbye to my
parents. I prayed as I kissed my sweet
niece and held back tears as I clung to my sister and brother. I prayed as we pulled out of our driveway for
the final time and I prayed as we made the long journey to our new home. I prayed as we unpacked and as we adjusted to
our new life. I prayed.
This past year
hasn’t always been pretty…and it certainly hasn’t brought all of my best
qualities to the surface. In fact, a lot
of the last year has been challenging and difficult, but God doesn’t care that
I didn’t do it perfectly or that the odds often seem stacked against us. He was and is faithful. He walked before us, patiently, lovingly,
doing the impossible and working for our good time and time again.
Our home was on
the market just over one week and we had a buyer! I made it through the newborn stage of my
daughter’s life with at least some of my sanity still intact. Ronan (and I) survived potty training and I’m
happy to report both seem to be thriving. What was a difficult year for our
marriage, God provided strengthening and unity. God extended our “family” by
giving us another amazing church to serve and grow with. We have been blessed
tremendously by our new community and home.
The friendships we have formed are among our most treasured…and our
friends have even let us keep our Nebraska title by referring to us as their
“adopted Nebraska family”…take that Illinoisan/Illini!
One year ago I
couldn’t have imagined (even in my wildest dreams) that I would ever be able to
say that I am truly grateful that God stretched and grew us the way He has over
the past year. And while I still don’t understand camouflage, Cardinal
baseball, or the lack of football in our new home, I truly am grateful that God
brought us here…even if it was some sort of clerical error. Without this adventure, we would have missed
out on so many blessings, but most importantly, without it we would not have
been able to witness God’s faithfulness and presence in our daily lives.
Lord, I praise you for your faithfulness. Thank you for this great adventure. Thank you for Your plan in our lives. When challenges arise and uncertainty is at hand, remind me that You are faithful.
