Israelites

It’s so long since I’ve blogged. . . We have moved to a small town in the Bighorn Basin in Wyoming and are relearning life and what that means for us. We have new walls, new neighbors, and new weather patterns.

God has been exceedingly good to us, but this new path has not been easy. I’ve had many days when I have wished I could close my eyes at night and wake up in my old house, with my old life.

You see, I loved my house. I loved our farm. I loved that my husband was a farmer and that all my loved ones were near. I loved my life. I could predict it.

Life here has been challenging. It takes time and effort to make new friends, settle into a new community, feel safe in a new church body. We have started a business and so far, my husband hasn’t found steady work. My children struggle with all the change and don’t necessarily want to settle in here.

And just when all these thoughts fill my head and drag me down with sadness and longing, the Lord speaks to me. He quietly reminds me that this new life is His plan for us. It’s His best for us. It’s what He has ordained and orchestrated. It is worth all the struggle and effort.

And I realize that I am an Israelite. Maybe you have never done like I have and sat in judgement of those people in the book of Exodus. It’s easy to read and point fingers at their lack of faith. I have often wondered how they could possibly WANT God to take them back to Egypt–back into slavery. And I have wondered how they could ever doubt the God that was so obviously and clearly leading them and miraculously providing for their every need.

Now that I am where I am, I give them a little more grace and am ashamed of my own judgemental attitude.

No, my life was not slavery. No, I was not being beaten and starved. But I was comfortable with my surroundings and knew what to expect from life, for the most part. Though we have never been rich, we have always had employment and been provided for. Since moving, we have, quite literally, had to trust God to provide money for every little bill that has come due. We have so many unknowns and things that have not yet been revealed. We have had no choice but to trust.

And you know what? God hasn’t let us go. He has blessed us with a brand new business. He has provided everything we have needed and more. He has put people in our path to help us and walk along beside us. I don’t know what tomorrow holds, but I know that the Promised Land is right here, in His hand. I don’t want to go back. I want to see what’s around the next sand dune. It’s gonna be great. And it’s gonna be worth getting sand in my shoes. 🙂