A New Season

Some pretty crazy stuff has been going on in my life lately. For about a month and a half, I wasn't able to say anything, or blog about it, but I am now. Well, here goes. Forgive me if my "narrative" is confusing and makes little sense. I am not a great writer, and I sometimes have difficulty putting my thoughts on paper, or in this case, the computer screen.

For some time now, God has been leading our family in a new direction. By a new direction, I mean a new place, a new church, a new job, etc. Recently, God has made it evident to us that it is time. Time for us to move on. Time for God to lead us into a new season.

I must say, moving away from your home town is not an easy ordeal. I've lived in this town for 12 years. It's all I've ever known. Our family is here, both church and blood; our closest friends are here. Yet if God is calling us to go, can we simply say, "Oh, I'm sorry God, but I just can't."? Of course not.

We've known for sure that we were going to move in the near future since about the end of July. For a while, we were just seeking God and asking, "Ok God, we know you want us to move. But where?" We had no idea. Soon, God began laying two specific spots on our hearts. One was Georgia; the other was Texas. At the beginning we had high hopes for Georgia. But as suddenly as the door had opened there, God shut it. So, all we had left was Texas. Again, we were seeking God out. "Is this it, God? Is Texas the place?" We were afraid that God would shut the door like he did on Georgia. But this time, God only gave confirmation after confirmation. Needless to say, we now know without a doubt that God wants us to move to Texas.

Last week we began telling our friends that we were moving. It was so hard. One night, we went and told the Cross family, our closest friends. I cried more than I ever have in one sitting. It was extremely sad, and yet, in another way, it was joyful. Our friends completely backed us up, and though they were sad that we had to go, they were glad that we were following God's lead. My 16-year-old friend Gabby said, "Thank you for being obedient." As we were leaving, I said through my tears, "That was officially the hardest thing I have ever had to do in my entire life." And it was. I must say though, that the time I have spent with my friends since we told them has been the most precious time I've ever spent with them. Somehow, you never appreciate something so much until you realize that you are going to lose it.

But we are looking forward. The past few weekends have been spent getting the house ready to sell, and packing up some of our things that we don't use very much. We are still working on getting the house spottless for our open house this coming Saturday, and we are keeping busy doing random, necessary things. We are taking a trip to Texas next week to scope things out. We will be staying with my mom's aunt and uncle, who live only 16 miles away from the town to which we are moving.

Last Sunday, we announced the news to our congregation. It was hard, but God saw us though, and it wasn't nearly as difficult as I thought it was going to be.

Although I am heartbroken at the thought of leaving my friends and family, I am so excited to see what God does with this! We are trusting in him for all the details, including selling our house, finding a job for my Daddy, and finding a home in Texas. There is so much that we do not have figured out, be we have faith that God will see us through.

Please keep our family in your prayers. This is difficult, and yet we are so excited to watch God work in us and through us.

~Kiah