We'd lived in our dream home for only 18 months when Rusty announced out of the blue, "I think we need to move closer to home". That simple declaration resulted in a big step of faith.
We picked a large number out of the air and put our home on the market thinking that if it sold for that amount we'd take that as a "sign" that this was of God. Well, the house sold within 3 weeks for full asking price!!!!! There was NO haggling! We were dazed. But, we knew God well enough by that time to trust Him so we both gave notice to our employers that we were moving to Indiana and giving up our jobs.
Well, God had other plans for us. A man "happened" to be visiting our office in Austin and heard that I was leaving the company and moving to the midwest. He had a position open in Champaign IL and asked me if I'd be interested in going to work for him there. The company would pay for our move, put us up into temporary housing until we found a new home and pay for our closing costs on a new home! As if that weren't enough, Rusty's company asked him if he'd be interested in working from IL for them for a period of time. He was in HR, and not working for a high-tech company. It was a vending company! This was nothing short of miraculous.
So, we moved to IL. We pulled into Champaign IL at noon on 1 Feb 2001 and the temperature was 2 degrees! Totally opposite of a real desert experience :-) We knew absolutely no one or anything about the town. Unlike the military where you have sponsors in the new location to help you get settled, we had only faith.
I wish I could say that we accepted this new calling on our life with much grace, faith and joy; but we didn't. Especially me. I was unhappy living there. For our friends reading this in Illinois, please don't take this personally. This was my heart condition--not a reflection of you or your state. My job situation was extremely stressful, and Rusty was bounced around in different jobs and was working very long hours. For the first 4 years we lived there I was praying and asking God to move us.
Well, He gave us the chance. When we had been in IL for 4 years, the company I worked for decided to close the local office. We were given the choice to move back to Austin or San Jose CA, or take a severance package. We had 6 weeks to make a decision. We prayed over it and when the 6-week period was up, we chose to move back to Austin. We didn't have a sure sign (at least what we expected to see) of God's will either way so we chose what made the most sense to us and what we perceived as an answer to our prayers. Well, for 3 weeks after we made that decision, neither Rusty or I had peace. So, we submitted to the Spirit and changed our decision. We opted to take the severance and stay. This took faith beyond what we could muster on our own but God gave us a peace that transcended all understanding. He rewarded that faith and obedience in a big way. A month prior to my termination and loss of 6-figure income (with no college degree remember), He delivered another position within the company to me. That job enabled me to work from home full time and not only keep my pay, but get a raise! I repented for my lack of faith, joy and trust in Him. My heart changed again and I vowed that no matter where He had us, I would serve with all my heart.
We did join a Church there for the first time in our life. We met some wonderful God-loving people and we enjoyed serving alongside them. But the truths of Paul's letters to the Churches in his epistles definitely came alive to us during this time. We learned so much about living for Christ both in the world and in the Church. The truth that not all who attend or even serve within a Church are true Christians became very clear to us. Satan does some of his most effective work from within the Church. This is not a surprise to God and shouldn't be a surprise to His children. We need to always put on the full armor of God! Paul wrote so often about this in Scripture and we learned it first-hand. We have a much better appreciation and understanding of why Paul wrote about Church discipline, discernment and leadership qualifications. We were so willing to serve wherever needed, that we sometimes took positions within the Church that we were neither qualified for or called by God to serve in. But, He used it for His glory. Rusty and I were baptized in a beautifully sweet ceremony in a pond outdoors. A group of people playing golf on the other side of the pond stopped playing to watch. This was Rusty's first time baptized and my re-dedication to Christ.
God blessed us in so many ways while in IL. Our beautiful daughter moved to IL when we'd been there about 3 years so she was close to us again. We gained a son-in-law and 3 grandsons while there. Our daughter told me that while we were in Germany, she had a friend who would take her to Church with them when she spent the night so she knew about Jesus too. She'd even learned some worship songs which she surprised us with knowing when she started going to Church with us. God is SO faithful! Our daughter and her husband are attending Church to this day and ensuring the boys are learning about God! Baptism is now being considered!
After we had accepted in our heart that IL was were God would have us serve, He moved us. This reminds me of the story of Moses and the Israelites in the desert. Their journey should've taken only days, but because of their hard hearts and disobedience, their time in the desert was extended and it took 40 years for them to arrive in the promised land! After completing 7 years in IL, without any premeditated planning on our part, He moved us to Indiana (this may be a blog of it's own in the near future). He also delivered to us our own business, a book shop, which has been a dream of ours for a long time. God has also blessed us with wonderful God-loving, service-oriented, mission-minded friends and Church.
We are currently in another time of trusting fully in Him. We have recently given up the big 6-figure income and are relying totally on His provision. We know He can be trusted fully even when, especially when, it makes no sense from the world's perspective.
I want to clarify something here in our story. I've glossed over many struggles and hard-times we've faced in our faith. This is mainly because they are nothing compared to the blessing and worth of serving Christ in every circumstance. But so many people are being told that coming to Christ means you'll be blessed with health, wealth and positive things only and I don't want to portray that falsely with our life's story. Jesus tells us "in this world, you will have trouble" but He also promises to be with us always. Everyone will have trouble in this life, whether a Christian or not. How much sweeter to face that trouble with the Lord! Following and serving Christ is not an easy road. If it were, everyone would take it. But the rewards and deep sense of peace is SO worth it.
Romans 14:17-18 For the kingdom of God is not a matter of eating and drinking, but of righteousness, peace and joy in the Holy Spirit, because anyone who serves Christ in this way is pleasing to God and receives human approval.
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