eenie, meenie,minnie, mo

Friday, what a day. I woke up around 7am and was determined not to get out of bed until I had peace about where the Lord wanted us. I read some more of Joshua, prayed fervently, and then, when I felt His peace, I emerged feeling refreshed and focused.

We were busy with school and had to get everything done before lunch so we could head up to the church to help get ready for our Upward Basketball Celebration Service. I was trucking right along, keeping the kids on track, getting myself ready, and even baking some brownies when Jeff called from work.

He said, "I need to make the call about the job. Are we goingto Florida or not." With a peace that I can not explain, I replied, "Take the job, when I finally let God speak to me last night and this morning, He showed me that every excuse was simply fear. I trust you. Let's make the move."
He forward the paperwork to me via email for a final once over. And with that, it was done. We were going to Florida. Ironicly, I was at peace for the first time since all this mess started. I called in our oldest to tell him privately that Dad was taking the job. We had a cry, and then we got ready to head to the church.

I drove down the highway, feeling that the Lord was gracious, and that He was patient. We had both been such a mess with this whole opportunity, we did not know if we were coming or going half the time. But the decision had been made and we were REALLY moving.

Then the phone rang, it was my best friend, wanting to know why I wasn't at the church yet . I told her I had been on the phone with Jeff. She asked if she would like what we were discussing or not. I told her things were crazy and I was on my way. At this point, she kindly pointed out that she was not hanging up until I spilled the details. And with that, I said it..."we're moving."

I quickly gave her the details of how the Lord had dealt with my fear, and how I was grateful to have a husband that I trusted with our life and our future. I arrived at the church and began to fill balloons with helium, keeping busy as I was trying to sort out what our decision would mean for us. Such huge challenges, such great opportunity. I was just thinking how crazy it was for me to be excited about what the next 6 months held, considering I would be a single parent, heading up the remodel of our kitchen and packing the house. But, glad that I was obedient to my Lord, and honoring my husband by trusting him. Life was good.

Then the phone rang, again. This time it was my husband. He said, "Babe, everything that I want to have in Florida, I really want to have here. I want to raise our kids here, with family close by. I want to finish our kitchen and get things fixed up and sell our house, but I want to buy another one, here, not in Florida." I could not believe what he was saying. I started crying, sobbing really and then I started asking about his change of direction. I wanted to make sure that HE was ok with staying here.

In the end, we both found peace in unexpected places.

On a side note, you should know that for the rest of the day I kept on trying to figure out why in the world we had to go through so much trial and anguish the past few weeks, going from one extreme to the other and then back again. And then someting came to mind that I had heard on Thursday, the day before the decision was REALLY made.

I was listening to Beth Moore's teaching of Shadrach, Meshach and Abendago from her study on Daniel. One of her final points, after chronicaling their faith journey prior to being thrown into the fiery furnace, was that in the end, all that burned was the ropes that bound them. They did not smell of fire, their clothes were not burned and none of them were hurt at all. The Bible tells us in Daniel 3:24 & 25:

"Then King Nebuchadnezzar was astonished; and he rose in haste and spoke, saying to his counselors, "Did we not cast three men BOUND into the midst of the fire?" They answered and said to the king, "True, O king." "Look!" he answered, "I see four men LOOSE, walking in the midst of the fire; and they are not hurt, and the form of the fourth is like the Son of God."(emphasis mine)

Beth then made the following statement, "Sometimes, God will allow us to go through a fiery furnance of tribulation or difficulty to free us from a long standing area of bondage. I am ceratin of it, that we'll come out of that thing and will not be burned. But, you know what? Our bonds wil be burned. Our chains will be burned."

Praise the Lord, that with EVERY trial we emerge from, we emerge with the knowledge that it was not in vain. I am so excited to be freed from the bondage of fear. Especially since, prior to this expirience, I would have NEVER considered myself bound by fear. I was unaware that deep down, I was afraid of what change could do to the future that I envisioned for our family. Oh, how much better is His vision of our future, than my own.