Andy was not looking for a new job when he was called to
interview in Winston. I was eight months
pregnant, we had recently bought a house in a FANTASTIC location, and we loved
being in Charlotte. I had made some
great friends, had a wonderful small group, and was about to have a baby. We lived an easy one hour drive from my
parents, and my mom and I were already planning all our lunch dates and meetups
for the days when I would be a stay at home parent. Life was good. And then we got a call from Winston Salem.
As soon as Andy told me about his unexpected call to
interview for a position in Winston, I knew we would be moving. The scripture, “I go to prepare a place for
you” came to mind very soon after the announcement, and I was flooded with
peace from the Lord about it. I vividly
remember telling my mom when I called her with the news, “I know we are going
to move. I know Andy hasn’t even
interviewed yet, but I’m telling you God is taking us to Winston Salem. He told me he was preparing a place for us
there.”
There were a lot of twists and turns after Andy’s call to interview,
and the choice to leave Charlotte became increasingly more difficult. It felt like reasons to stay just kept
popping up in our path, but in every quest for wisdom and in every prayer, we
always had confirmation that God was asking us to leave – that his promises
were as true as his call.
We have been in Winston Salem almost a year, and I still miss
Charlotte regularly – the shopping, the proximity to my family, my friends and
Bible Study there. But gradually, God is
creating such a special community for us here.
Last night, Andy and I talked about the three homes we’ve lived in
together and the home I owned and loved in Greenville. Each of those homes had some awesome perks
and special memories for us – and a couple of them were very near and dear to
my heart – but we both agreed that our house in Winston is the best one for our
current stage of life. There is space
for Daniel to play and storage for his many toys. It truly is a great fit and just what we
need.
And not only that.
God has also been true to his word and is surrounding us with the
community I had craved. Today, Daniel
and I walked over to play with our neighbors who have children ages 4, 3, and
almost 1. Daniel adores these children,
and we see them at least once each week.
Today, I watched as the three youngest – all boys – knelt together in
the grass, the smallest one not quite ready to walk. I watched the three year old with his bright
blue eyes look at Daniel in all seriousness and say, “Daniel, we do not do
this.” I couldn’t quite hear the rest of
his speech, but I knew he was telling my rambunctious boy how to treat his
younger brother – ie not to hit the baby with the play sword he was
carrying! I watched their interaction,
and I thought, “This is it. This is
community.” Here was an older child
teaching the younger one something he had learned from his own parents about
kindness. Here I was listening to his lesson
and learning from him and also his sweet mom how to parent these babies in our
care. It reminded me of the scripture in
Titus 2 that describes the church as a body of believers who learn from one
another – who all have something to teach and something to learn. Tonight as I reflect on that sweet
interaction between Daniel and his buddies, I am thankful we have moved
here. I am thankful that God prepared a
place for me here before we came, and I am thankful for all he has yet to do.
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