Moving and Faith

I have wanted to blog about this for quite sometime, but it all seems so difficult to put into words.  So, here is my feeble attempt....

The Surface Story
Currently, our family lives in Pooler (about 30 minutes outside of Savannah).  We attend church in Rincon (20 minutes from Pooler and 45 minutes or so from Savannah).  All of these time references are without traffic.  So, needless to say, we are on the road alot.  Our families are in Savannah, Trey works in Savannah, I go to Bible study in Savannah, all of our doctors are in Savannah, etc.  On the other hand, we LOVE our church family in Rincon, and most of our friends live there.  We are pretty involved in our church, so we are in Rincon a good bit as well.  Now that we have children, this situation is definitely not ideal.  Ideally, we would like to live/work/attend church/ etc. all within the same community.

Rewind to last fall.  After having 2 babies, Christina starts to feel a little weary of this current lifestyle.  She mentions it to Trey a few times, and brings up the possibility of moving to Savannah at some point.  Trey responds with something like, "There is no way we could sell our house right now.  We'd lose so much money.  Would be nice, but I don't think so."  So, Christina just sort of drops it and knows if God wants us to make a move, He'll show us when the time is right.  Later in the fall, the house next door sells very quickly and at a price comparable (per square foot) of what we paid for our house.  We started to think maybe we could sell our house at some point.

In late January, Trey all of sudden feels like God has given him a total peace that now is the time to sell our house.  There were a few other things that happened that played into this, but primarily he just kept saying he had a peace and wanted to talk to our realtor.  Holly, our realtor that we love, came over and thought we could sell our house for what we paid for it four years earlier.  She went over a few things we should do, but she didn't think we needed to do any major upgrades.  We spent February and March, fixing up our house, cleaning things out, going through stuff, and getting the house ready to list.  We listed our house at the end of March, and it sold in 2 1/2 weeks!

We are set to close on our house on May 20, and we have to be out by May 22.  We have been house hunting in Savannah like crazy, but we have not found what we are looking for yet.  So, things are a little up in the air as far as where to go from here, but we are moving in a few weeks!!!

So, there's the "surface story" of what has been going on in the Glendye Family over the past few months.  It sounds like such a great story, full of easy, concrete decisions, etc.  Ha...if only you could be inside of my head and heart!  So, here is my feeble attempt to get below the "surface".... (And this is the part that is really hard for me to put into words.)

Going Deeper
Faith. Everyone talks about walking by faith, living by faith, having faith.  Missionaries obviously have faith. Preachers have faith, and sometimes I think I forget that God wants "little 'ole me" to live a life of faith, too.  I have been through times in my life that have required greater faith than other times.  Times such as when I felt God calling me to do a ministry internship that required me to raise financial support right after graduating college.  Times like when I felt God calling me to quit my job to be a stay at home mom, trusting He would provide financially.  Times when we desperately wanted a baby, and just had to trust that God was in control and knew the perfect child for us.  Times just like this time now, where God has called (and we feel certain we are moving because of Him calling) us to pick up our family out of what is comfortable and move, trusting in His perfect plan for our us.

Faith is hard.  It is a constant battle of clinging to God's truth.  It is tuning out fear and embracing the unknown, simply because it is known to God.  It is trusting in a greater purpose and a higher calling.  It is exciting, yet frustrating, yet terrifying all at the same time.  Faith is taking one step at a time and clinging to each truth that God has revealed.

It just so happens that since September, I have been participating in a Bible Study (through BSF-Bible Study Fellowship) on Genesis.  The theme of this study is "Moving Faith Forward."  I KNOW that God placed me in this Bible Study "for such a time as this."  It is one thing to say, "I know God is in control," or, "God has a plan." But, when you have studied men like Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, and Joseph, and when you have seen, firsthand, how God has worked in their lives, and when you realize that the same God that Sovereignly worked, intervened, and was 100% faithful to these great patriarchs is the same God that is actively and intimately working right now in your own life, you REALLY KNOW and can TRUST these things!!!  I cannot tell you how many times these last months, I have left my Wednesday morning Bible study truly blown away at how God works.  I am blown away by how God worked back then, and I am blown away by how He is working right now.  I have been a little sponge, taking in so many verses and phrases and constantly reminding myself of them.  I have to,  in order to have sanity during this crazy time of "uprooting" our family.  Phrases like, "When going through an uncertain time, God does not work by giving formulas, He wants our fellowship."  Even simple phrases like, "God is not off track" have been so encouraging.  I mean, I have said similar phrases for years.  But, when you look at someone like Joseph and how God gave him a vision when he was 17 and used each and every one of Joseph's awful circumstances to bring this vision to reality years later, you really KNOW that God is not off track.  He wasn't then, and He isn't now.  Verses such as, "May the favor of the Lord our God rest upon us; establish the work of our hands for us-yes, establish the work of our hands" (Psalm 90:17) have become my daily prayer for this "season of life."

Yes, what is ahead for us is very uncertain.  Houses, neighborhoods, schools, church.....they all weigh into this decision.  It is a bit overwhelming because Trey and I do not know what is the best house, neighborhood, school, or church for our family.  We truly don't know.  But, we rest in the fact that the decisions have already been made for us by the One who does know what is best.  We just have to wait, be patient, listen, and obey as He chooses to reveal His plan.  It is a constant struggle to remind myself that He is in control.  I mean, the unknown is scary, but I have to remember that it is not unknown to Him.

So, I praise God for this time.  I am thankful that He is drawing us closer to Himself.  I am thankful that He has exciting things and a perfect plan in store for our family.  I am thankful for God's promise that He always blesses obedience, and we can trust that whatever He has planned will bring forth a blessing.  I am thankful that God gives us faith to trust Him when we ask.  And, I am most thankful that I have a God that is 100% faithful in every situation!!!