13 June 2011...I packed up the car and with three brave girls, headed out of Hamilton, Ontario. Our men (Bob, Austin, Ben, Elliot the cat and Diego the gecko) stayed behind to supervise the moving truck that was coming that morning to load up our worldly belongings. They would follow the next day.
We had already been on this journey for several months. God had spoken to our family through dreams, visions and prophetic words about leaving our life in Canada and moving back to the States. I knew we were doing exactly what He was asking of us, but it was difficult. We had lived there 8 years. Emma was 6, Austin was 3 and Ben only 7 months when we moved there from Texas. The little girls were born there and it was the only home they had ever known. Pulling up those roots took serious effort and so many tears.
The girls and I said goodbye to friends and neighbours and headed to Northern Virginia. We did not have any reservations for a place to stay that night. We were just following His lead.
I cried the first three or four hours of the trip. Friends and family were texting and praying us through the day. I am so thankful for that support and encouragement.
We must have listened to this song 20 times that day.
It really became a theme song for us...in hotels, a beach condo, a bed and breakfast, house sitting for friends, vacation rentals and more hotels. We followed as the Lord led us one step at a time. It was a crazy journey. At times we questioned whether or not we had heard Him correctly. At times I questioned my sanity (the enemy loved to whisper lies along the lines of "you've lost your mind..."). But the Father was and is faithful and true and good and loving and generous. He never changes, no matter how much our situation or circumstances change. He remains faithful, even when what He asks of us does not make sense, humanly speaking.
We desire to live our lives to please Him, no matter the cost. Jesus died for us and rescued us from sin and gave us new life! We want to know and experience Him and follow Him wherever He takes us and no matter how difficult the journey. We loved our life and our friends in Canada. It was not a piece of cake to say goodbye to all that (not to mention all of the "possessions" that He asked us to give away). It was not a cinch to let go of what had been established there. But He told us over and over that we would be settled and established in this new venture. We hung on to Him and that word.
We are still hanging onto Him and singing about His faithfulness. In the past three or four months during our family worship times, we have enjoyed a new song that started coming on my Pandora. The theme still concerns God and His faithfulness. The first time I heard it I couldn't believe my ears, since we live near the mountains now and it does feel like we are on the battlefield most days.
Never Once by Matt Redman
This was our reality for the first 6 months of the last 12...
And for the past 6 months, this...
We sense He has us here for several reasons, but we are really just at the beginning of this new volume He has commenced writing for us, so it is in process of being fleshed out. We continue to seek His face and to sing of His love and faithfulness!
I saw heaven standing open and there before me was a white horse, whose rider is called Faithful and True. Revelation 19:11 [NIV]
