Fourteen years ago, John and I made Austin our home. I quickly fell in love with this city and boldly proclaimed, "You couldn't pay me enough to move back to Dallas. I love it here!"
Fast forward to last October when John came home one day and said, "Well, they're serious this time. They want me in Dallas." 'They' being the amazing company he works for. We've known this request would come sooner or later, but we always thought we'd turn it down.
Through LOTS of prayer, I'm eating my words and come June, Dallas will be our new home.
As the title of this post suggests, I really think God is chuckling right now. He's saying, "Really, Dana? You think you've got it all figured out, don't you?!"
I've talked to God a lot throughout this decision and it's become very clear that our move is actually His way of answering my prayers. I prayed for God to heal my relationship with my brother. Well, guess who lives in Dallas?...my brother. I've prayed that God would validate John in his work and that they'll value him for the amazing commitment and efforts he displays on a daily basis. Well, they "need" him in Dallas because he's received a promotion. How's that for validation?!
I'll be honest, I've "tested" God through this decision. My weak faith has had the audacity of asking God to "do things" if our move was meant to be. I was just telling the kids about this this morning.
Reed's been asking to join a skeet shooting team. John began to look into it for him and reached out to the Texas coordinator via email. In the meantime, I prayed that God would 'provide me proof' by letting the answer reveal that the teams were in Dallas and not in Austin. Well, weeks passed without response. Then one day, an email appeared saying, "Unfortunately, we don't have any teams in Austin, but there are tons in Dallas." I read this and started crying! Crying, out of awe that He answered me so boldly and crying that I knew at this point there was no turning back...if we're going to live in His will, then we need to follow His lead.
John and I have realized that we've become very comfortable in our lives. It's often the times of discomfort that cause spiritual growth so we're embracing this season of life and trusting that we'll come out on the other side of things as better human beings.
You've probably noticed things have been lacking a bit here on my blog. Well, now you know why! Trying to find a house in a different city kinda sucks a little energy out of ya. And, it's a bit pointless to do great projects around the house when you know it's not going to be yours much longer.
So, friends, I ask you to hang on for the ride during this time of transition. I'll continue posting but it certainly won't be on a regular basis like usual.
Our house will be on the market in a few weeks and we're facing big decisions about whether to build or buy. Right now, we can't even make up our minds about what part of town to live in. Dallas has a million suburbs and most have horrible commutes. Decisions, decisions.
I'll leave you with this though...I was very frustrated one night after spending hours searching for homes on-line. I prayed as I was going to bed and asked God to give me a glimpse into the house we'd be living in. I wanted a sense of familiarity so when I walked into it, I'd know. I didn't dream of a specific house that night...I dreamt of floor plans. Hummm...
