Hmmm...5 years...already?

Five years ago...I wanted to take a look back...

Steve and I were living in the same house that we had lived in for 29 years...

We lived in Bismarck, ND where I was born and spent 50 of 54 years...

Betsy was a couple of weeks away from having Simon..

Jane was doing her practicum in Salt Lake City..

Andy and Jane were dating...from a distance...

We had gotten a call from Bellingham, Washington to come out for an interview...

Jane met us in Seattle and traveled to Bellingham with us...

we came out...over Veteran's Day.

Five years ago....

Steve left for his interview and Jane and I spent the day driving around with Allan

Carol, Steve's sister, had to teach that Monday...

Jane flew back to Salt Lake and Steve and I talked

We talked...cried...giggled...and talked.

Steve was offered the job...we prayed about it...had been praying for quite a while...

We talked to our girls...we prayed...we talked to each other...

we prayed...and we accepted the job...

On the way home...I told Steve:

I have been thinking about how we are going to tell my mom and our small group...

He asked me how it went...

I looked at him...and said:

It didn't go well for any of them....

5 years ago, we accepted a job...but it was more than that...

we moved away from family...

we moved away from my mom,

we moved away from Betsy and Jon...

We moved away from Simon who was 6 weeks old...

we moved away from Jane and didn't realize that she felt abandoned

we moved away from friends...

What did happen when we said yes to God 5 years ago?

He moved us and stretched us.

He affirmed that we were following Him.

Did we miss the people that we were leaving? Yes.

Are there times when we fell soooo far away from family? Oh a hundred times yes.

Do we know, still, that we are where God wants us? YES

5 years ago...we said yes to a job.

but it was more

5 years ago we said Yes to God

and He has continued to be faithful.