Sitting with Stories

Throughout this year, I've had the opportunity to tell you about some stories we've sat with for a period of time. I always ty to wait until the story is established enough (even if it isn't completed) before I share. 

Our whole year has been a series of journeys, and in each of them, we've been learning so much about ourselves (individually and as a couple), our faith and God's faithfulness, and we've even been getting some snippets of what God might have for us in the future. 

Some parts of the journeys have been so, so hard. Waiting is not a gift that comes naturally to either of us, but we've been learning to do it, and hopefully we're learning to do it better. Some parts have been so, so exciting. Watching God write stories as only He can do brings my finite-writing-heart so much joy. 

We have one more story to share, and the time seems right to do so today!

Friends, we're moving!

The number one response we get when we've shared this news in person is some version of "Didn't you just move?" (Or "What's wrong with your house?")

Yes. We just moved. Nothing is wrong with our house. I mean, after all, it has a yard now, right?

But there is a story. 

One of the perils of leaving a job where you live and work in the same space is that when you leave work, you leave your home, too.

So we moved, making our next-town-of-choice decision based on location relative to our new church and also where we thought we would be working. The market was competitive then and options were very slim. (Three houses, to be exact.) The Lord provided this house of ours to give us a place for respite and healing. He gave us an opportunity to enjoy a complete dream-come-true in living in a brand-new house that so closely matched the floor plan of the house we had wanted to build so many years ago. 

Nothing about this house was a mistake. Nothing was a disappointment (yard excluded - ha!). 

But as you know, when we settled into our new chapter of life, God ended up taking our employment in a different direction than we first thought. Ryan's job, though not a horrible commute, is a little distance from where we live. There isn't anything wrong with that. It's not a requirement for us to live right in the mix of where he works. But as he became more immersed in the role, we both realized there would be marked advantages to living closer to where he works. 

We talked about it and decided we would keep a casual eye out for an opportunity to shift closer to his work whenever the time came.

We were thinking maybe 2-3 years down the road.

Or months. Months are good, right?

The story of how it all came about is much longer than one post, but I'll give you the short version. Quite by surprise, we happened upon a small house for sale - not far from where Ryan works - and I think if you see a picture of the backyard view, I'll be saved not just a thousand words, but thousands of words.

Yes. That's a lake. 

The first year Ryan and I were married, we committed to being open to whatever ministry opportunities God wanted to entrust to us. We made that commitment at the lake. Not this lake, but the lake where Ryan's family has a cottage. 

Throughout our marriage, we've often toyed with the idea of a lake home, but alas, permanently owning two homes is not something we are able to swing, financially. (I'm not sure what it's like where you live, but in Indiana, many families do own lake cottages that they visit on summer weekends. Sometimes whole families own it together and share the usage.) When we lived at WillowBridge, we did make an offer on a lake cottage that we hoped to use as our "winter weekend home" and we were going to use it as an Airbnb the rest of the time. That fell through, which was really disappointing for us, though now I can see how God had a different plan coming, and He was protecting us from what we didn't know.

When we prepared to leave WillowBridge, we toyed with the idea of moving to "lake country" within Indiana, which would have meant moving farther north. It was the perfect time to make a move to the lake, since we had a blank slate before us. Ultimately, we felt led to move to this area, where we could have a strong and meaningful church community, so we gave God our lake house dreams and moved to non-lake country. Or so we thought. We had no idea there are three small lakes right in our area! 

It isn't lost to us that God has taken us through many ministries (both in the local church and in our vocations) and now has us in new ministries (both in our local church and in our vocations), and He has brought the opportunity for us to enjoy life on the lake...year-round. Not in a vacation-home capacity. Not in owning two homes and trying to rent one in order to make ends meet. 

The idea felt too good to be true, but it turned out to be God doing more than we could imagine.

We fell in love with the house online, and we prayed about it, asking God to clearly open or close the door for us when we went to see it in person. I secretly hoped we would hate it, so the answer would be clear.

But we loved it.

We made an offer, and I secretly hoped the owner would reject our offer, so the answer would be clear.

But he accepted it.

Then we waited for all the details to work out, and I not-so-secretly prayed that something would fall through so the answer would be clear.

And everything went through seamlessly.

Why do I always think an answer has to be no to be clear? 

And so it was that we closed on our lake home. The previous owner handed us the key and walked out the door. 

Ryan and I strolled around the house, greeting it for the first time as our home and the future of our dreams and ministries. We stood by the window and watched the water ripple under our pier. 

My phone rang, interrupting our silent joy. 

That was the moment I was offered my new job. 

In forty-five minutes flat, God gave us a lake home and gave me a job.

(Then I got in the car and drove to the dentist. He asked how I was doing, and I said, "So far, the day is extraordinary. Please keep that going!" And he did.)

All this happened several weeks ago now. I haven't told you because we have been doing some projects at the new house and prepping for a move that will take place sometime soon. (Exact date TBD.) It is already beginning to look and feel like home, and we can't want to wake up and go to sleep there every single day. We can't wait to look out over the water. (My desk has a lake view, and I'm giddy about it.)

There are many more stories to come, over time, about this change, but we hope you'll rejoice with us over this blessing. It's okay if multiple moves aren't your thing. It's okay if you think we're crazy. Just trust us that we don't feel like we made any mistakes in this home we've enjoyed for most of the year. It was God's provision until the next place was ready for us. It will be a provision for those who come behind us to make it their home. 

We do hope the lake house is a landing point for many, many years to come. We hope this is where God has us put down long-term roots. And we hope He paints many beautiful sunsets over that water!