God’s Crazy Plans (aka Big News)

That is a true statement. One that I’ve gotten used to saying. I really should have known when we moved 679 miles south right after our wedding, then abruptly moved 766 miles back north after being married for 6 weeks that the whole concept of moving would be our norm. This brings the total count of moves to 7 since May 2007. That number is actual moves from one apt/house to another, not actual cities. Thank God!

But there is a phrase I never ever imagined would be true.

Are you ready for this? 

No you are not dyslexic. You read it right. 

No judging necessary. We already know that we are crazy. Absolutely positively crazy. Quite frankly, it’s God who is the crazy one. It’s all His doing anyway. 

To make a long story short, Brent has been completely unhappy with his current job the past few months. Like, it’s been really bad, y’all. Another job that he applied for back in December finally contacted him…5 weeks ago. Guess they like to take their time??? I mean, I guess God likes to take His time?

But we were sure that God would say no again because He has said no quite a lot the past two years. We still fervently prayed every day, all day. We specifically prayed that Brent would get the job, and we also prayed for us to just be content with the Lord’s plan. Trusting Him no matter what was the bottom line. 

The job was offered to him, after 15 lllooonnnggg days of waiting to hear back. And the offer was too good to resist. 

So, you know what that means. Packing up the boxes again. Why did I ever unpack in the first place? 

Oh wait, I know, because we had plans to stay in Birmingham for a lot longer than a year. 

I’ve always known deep down that Birmingham was just a middle ground. A place to live in between North AL and wherever the Lord prepared us for after Birmingham. I just assumed this in-between-season would last longer and that the place He was preparing us for was not the place we left!

I guess this would be the perfect time to quote some Scripture that is oh so true right now.

The heart of a man plans his way, but the Lord establishes his steps. Proverbs 16:9

If that ain’t the truth, then I don’t know what is!

Of course, we have both wondered why in the world the Lord is bringing us back. Or why He moved us to Bham in the first place if He knew we would be right back in North AL a year later.

We’ve also wondered if, like the Israelites, God let us have our way for a little while.

However, we can look back on the past year and see a very specific, big way that God used me while we have been here. To think He orchestrated all this crazy job/moving stuff so that I can be used by Him for one specific purpose blows my mind. Why does He want to use me? I am so unworthy to be used by Him for His glory. But, that’s why He made me. He takes great delight in me, a filthy flawed human that He made and sees as His righteous Son. I am humbly grateful. He had a purpose for us while we were here. The purpose has been fulfilled. It’s time to go back.

We can look back on this year and see why many things didn’t work out (things that irritated us at the time) so that this move would be possible. We can look ahead and see how God is preparing the way and working out the details so that this move will be possible.

This year in Birmingham has been rough. Other than being closer to our families, there hasn’t been much about this year that I have enjoyed. It’s been super crappy for several different reasons. I’m thankful that the Lord has carried us through the rough waters and is hopefully bringing us to a peaceful shore for a while.

Sorry Birmingham, family, and friends. I do love you. You will always be home. Maybe we can try again later, but my track record in moving says that I can’t make any promises.

One thing I know is that everything that has happened has been proof that we are held in His loving hands and nothing has happened that He didn’t cause or allow. We have plenty of evidence of God’s faithfulness to share with Lily. His protection and provision in our lives has never been more evident than it is now.

The time frame of the actual move is uncertain. There is a house we found that fits the bill all the way around (with a few extras we like). We are meeting with a realtor this weekend to see it. We have a lot of details to sort through and decisions to make. And we are about to be in the middle of the holiday season, Lily’s birthday, and one of my best friend’s wedding in January (that Lily and I are both in!).

Time for things to get crazy…again!

As always, I’ll keep you updated.