Monday, May 13, 2013

My Radio Debut

Do you listen to Moody Christian Radio? If so, you may have heard me on Chris Fabry Live today.

Chris' program today was asking the question: How do you know when to make a move? How do you know when God is telling you, as He told Abram, "Go!"

Chris confessed that he and his wife are in the midst of this right now, trying to decide whether to make a big move.

I shared my own story of our corporate relocation, and how we came to the decision that God's timing was right for us to take this leap of faith. Here is the long version of what I revealed:

We are in the midst of our third corporate relocation now. They say that a relocation is one of the top three most stressful events in a person's life, right up there with the death of a loved one and a divorce.

Our first relocation, from Michigan to St. Louis, was not a cake walk. I moved three sons, one starting high school, one starting middle school, and one who was a toddler. It was a terribly frightening proposition. Not only were we leaving behind all of our friends and family and embracing the unknown, but we were leaving behind the comfort of our jobs and our schools and our church. To make matters worse, my father had recently been diagnosed with cancer, and it broke my heart that I would not get to pop over and see him every day.

Our move was difficult, but it was also filled with blessings. We had an amazing church, with amazing Christ-filled friends, and within a year, we truly felt at home.

Within another year's time, my husband's job was eliminated after a corporate buyout, and we were unemployed for six months. After much prayer, he found a new position...in Indianapolis. Once again, we had to move.

This second move was tough. It had been a Job kind of year. I had lost a dear sister-in-law, a dear niece, my father, our job, our amazing church family and friends, and a beautiful home and community that we'd come to love. I will admit, I came to our new town with a broken spirit. To make matters worse, I was diagnosed with an auto-immune disorder, and spent a lot of months coping with illness. I do not think that I was in a good place, so to speak, to meet new people and make new friends and start a new life over once again. I became pretty reclusive, which led to more social awkwardness. Let's just say that I often had a hard time making a good impression. I had a hard time being real and authentic and being accepted for the broken person I was.

We did not immediately find a church. And we did not instantly have a big group of friends. But we persisted, we found a church, and we slowly made friends.

Last fall, while I was in bible study and the Word, I felt the conviction of the Holy Spirit revealing inside of me a deep seeded bitterness over my life that left me feeling discontented. I knew that I had let this bitterness prevent me from experiencing the grace of my loving God. It had been four years since our move here, and I was ready to let it all go and embrace the life that God had in store for me. I began to see God's blessings in new ways.  At that same time, my husband and I began to feel that God was prompting us for some sort of change.

Last February, my husband came home from work and said "My boss has a position he wants me to fill...in Pittsburgh. I need you to pray, and start praying now!"



One of my favorite ways to pray is to meditate while walking on our nature trail. On this day, I decided that a day of praying and fasting and walking was in order. As I walked the trail, God and I talked about some of my thoughts and concerns and prayers. And that's when God spoke right into my heart.

"Remember that prayer you prayed here last week? When you prayed that I would bless your husband and prosper him so that he could bless others? Well, this is me, answering that prayer!"

I shared this with my husband, and we both felt God's nudging to take this new leap of faith once again.

Are there risks?

Most definitely!

Will I miss our home here?

Without a doubt. I will miss many of the people we've met along the way. I will miss the historic small town that I live in, filled with all of its quaint shops and cafes and parks and trails. I will miss our church and the flat Indiana farmland and wonderful roads. I will miss the view of the nature preserve and the trail in our own back yard.


I am in a really good place now, healthy and whole and healed, ready to embrace whatever future God has for us. I know, without a doubt, that His plan is to prosper us and not to harm us, to give us a hope and a future.

Want to hear something wonderful? He is already blessing this move in amazing ways, working ahead of us to set good things in motion.

I got an email last week from one of my dear friends from my St. Louis church, who moved out to Pittsburgh with her family five years ago. When I told her where we'd finally found a house, she responded "That's just ten minutes from where we live!"

We have an awesome God, don't we?

"Be strong and courageous...the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go." Joshua 1:9

You can visit Chris Fabry's website and learn more about his radio program here:

http://www.moodyradio.org/chrisfabrylive/






6 comments:

  1. I am so glad that you have chosen to share your journey here on this blog. Your faith shines through it all, and is an inspiration to me as I muddle through my own daily challenges. Thank you!

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  2. You need your own show now! It was great to meet you.

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    1. Ha! Ha! Thanks, Chris! I don't want my own radio show, but when I finish writing my book, I'd love to come back and talk again on yours! :) Blessings on your ministry!

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  3. Love the show, understand your heart! I'm the mama of three sons also and appreciate your beautiful post! Keep writing and sharing! I'm going to share it with others! Blessings in Christ, Cindy

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    1. Thank you so much for these encouraging words! I cherish them!

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