Trusting God When He Asks For Our Most Precious
The life I have lived in California has been the very best. I love the friends here, my family, our church, the beautiful scenery and weather. Living life in community with such wonderful people in the same place for decades has caused the soil of my life to be rich and fertile and from it has come a bountiful harvest.
Over the summer we made the big decision to move to Colorado Springs, Colorado. To pack up our six kids, fix up the house to sell and say goodbye to our church, dearest friends and the sweetest family. Life has been so good. We are blessed beyond measure. The biblical training and life experience we have been taught and walked through with the people at our church has changed my life and pointed my heart to God. Seeing the sovereignty of God at work each week from the pulpit, in the church body and in my life has spurred me on to love and good deeds and a deep and trusting love for Christ.
As we prepare to go, we have seen God’s hand in so many details and have been affirmed in many ways. We could never say thank you enough to our community here and I have seen first hand some of the sweet ways to help and encourage those who are moving. Before I share about our decision and thought process behind our decision I want to list out some of the ways that we have been encouraged during this process. Might you file them away and maybe find one way that you can encourage or help someone in their time of moving and leaving a community. Over the last 6 weeks or so people have:
- Sent encouraging notes and text messages
- Dropped off countless Starbucks orders
- Picked up my kid’s and let them play at their house
- Met us at the pool for dinner to talk through how we are processing
- Cried with us as we shared our big news
- Brought over a WARM MEAL so we could enjoy dinner together as a family in our almost empty house
- Sold our belongings for us
- Taken trash to the dump for us or donated it
- Encouraged us with things they love about Colorado Springs
- Prayed for and encouraged us personally and corporately
- Let us stay at their house
- Brought us a homemade carrot cake
- Lent us their Motorhome to sleep in while we were in transition
- Helped us repair the house by installing trim, repairing sheetrock, talked through projects
- Brought over snacks for our drive out there
- Purchased meals for us for our drive out
- Purchased light fixtures, vanities and other needed items for renovations
- Given us books about things to do and explore in our new town
- Gifted us a membership to the zoo and a Space museum in our new town
- Invited us out to dinner, over for a guy or girl night, or the the carwash to talk and process everything
- Planned the best going away party for us
- Have rearranged schedules, parties and events to accommodate our schedule
- Encouraged us with scripture that is fitting for the moment
- Invited my kids out to do things with their kids “one last time”
- Gone to the park with us to enjoy nature in the middle of busy-ness
- Come over and motivated my kids to clean, pack and purge cheerfully
- Dropped their kids off so they could work for half a day doing yard work, packing, trash cleanup, dumpster loading,etc
- Asked us If we couldn’t move our schedule “just one more week”
- Found a home for my senior dog who we weren’t able to move with us
- Sent pictures old and new of sweet times together
- Gifted us sentimental pictures of our home and family
- Arranged meals and special times together
This has truly been a season unlike any other. Our community has loved us so well and we are beyond grateful to God and to them. People’s lives are busy and when we can stop long enough to remember that people matter.
The Bible talks about bringing our very best to God and to offer the best of our life to Him because of what Christ has done for us. As I regularly “sweep out the corners” of my heart and take inventory of all of the things I hold dear, the life I live here is one of the most precious things to me. I didn’t know that giving up the wonderful life I have here would be one of the things that the Lord would ask for when He says, “do you love me more than these?”
There is an old song by Steve Green and the chorus says,
Broken and spilled out
Just for love of you Jesus
My most precious treasure
Lavished on Thee
Broken and spilled out
And poured at Your feet
In sweet abandon
Let me be spilled out
And used up for Thee
God is worthy of my life and everything in it. CT Stud says, “Only One Life, ‘Twill Soon Be Past, Only what is done for Christ Will Last” While we have a list of practical and reasons, there is a big part of this decision that is simply walking in faith and obedience to what the Lord has put on our heart. We have desired to be faithful fisherman on this side of the boat and right now the Lord is asking us to cast our net on the other side of the boat. May be be glorified by all of that is to come in our family. We look forward to dwelling in the land of Colorado Springs and like Psalm 37 says,
Trust in the Lord, and do good;
dwell in the land and befriend faithfulness.[b]
4 Delight yourself in the Lord,
and he will give you the desires of your heart.5 Commit your way to the Lord;
trust in him, and he will act.
6 He will bring forth your righteousness as the light,
and your justice as the noonday.
The chapter ends with the wonderful promise. If you have not called out to Jesus for Salvation, if you have not tasted and seen that the Lord is Good, if you have not seen the blessing of fellowship of the Saints, might today be the day of Salvation. The Lord will help you, deliver you, save you and be a refuge for your soul. He has given you everything and pouring out your life for Him in service to Christ, building up of the saints, filling your mind with the Bible are all worthy uses of your time that will not return void.
The salvation of the righteous is from the Lord;
he is their stronghold in the time of trouble.
40 The Lord helps them and delivers them;
he delivers them from the wicked and saves them,
because they take refuge in him.
I’ve been following your blog for quite some time now, and I’m continually impressed by the quality of your content. Your ability to blend information with entertainment is truly commendable.
Dear Katie, so excited for you new journey. I have seen how God has used you and how faithful you are. I remember when we first met as Carolina’s DG leader in junior high! You were single and trusting the Lord would bring you a godly man in His time and he did. We saw you get married and start a family and become a godly wife and mom. And still be involved with the church family. I am sure that you will be a blessing wherever you go.