3 months ago today I drove away from the only home I had ever known.
After leaning in and listening to the Lord for a few months, I knew I was being called out of Louisiana to Tennessee. Not knowing much more, I knew the ONLY way this was going to work was if I trusted the Lord 100%. May 13th was the official moving date.
I began praying for God to provide a church, community, a job, a place to live and for my heart and mind to be protected from loneliness and depression.
May 13th came faster than expected and my car was packed to the max. I arrived in Knoxville, TN on Sunday night, overwhelmed and tired, yet full of peace.
Monday morning came with lots of excitement and anticipation. I received a text from someone who was a friend of a friend inviting me to a small group that met on Monday nights. So I went. At the end of the small group meeting I knew that God had answered my prayer for community. On day 1. Incredible. I continued to attend the same church the small group was a part of, only to love it more and more each Sunday. In my first week here God answered my prayer for a church.
That left the prayer request for a job and a place to live still unanswered, but at this rate I had zero worries about them not being provided. I continued to trust God.
I woke up each day and applied and interviewed for jobs as if it was my full-time job. And it truly was exhausting. Until one day I got asked to do a face to face interview with a
Chick-fil-a here. And then a second. Then a third. During the first week of July I was offered a full-time position to be a Director in training in a leadership development program that one of the operators started in his store. During the interview process for this position, one of the girls in the small group spoke about needing a roommate to live with her in her newly purchased home. On July 9th I moved into the most amazing home with the most amazing, Jesus loving roommate. God answered my prayer for a job and a home during the first week in July.
Besides all of these amazing provisions that God has given, He also provided friendships new and old to be strengthened as I hung out with new friends here and with old friends from home who visited. He provided financially with house sitting and babysitting jobs that I still can't explain getting other than Jesus providing. He guarded my heart from lies, loneliness, and depression and gave me joy, optimism, and lots of His truth.
I wanted to share this story because it has become a testimony. I left Lafayette, LA not knowing anyone or having any answers in Tennessee. But in 3 short months God has provided above and beyond what I ever imagined. This is a testimony of how God is trustworthy. He can be trusted and He will provide. This journey has taught me that I can trust the Lord 100%. Before I was only trusting Him with about 60% which might as well be 0%.
It has always been a dream of mine to move away and experience life in a new place. And deciding to wait on God's timing for it to come into fruition was the best thing I could have ever done. There is no explanation for anything that has happened in these 3 months other than God is good and God is faithful. I have had my moments of tears and moments of fear, but God has been there helping me see the big picture through it all.
If you take anything away from this, let it be that God hears you, loves you, and will take care of you. He cares about your dreams more than you do and He can be trusted with them. Who better to trust with your crazy dreams than the creator of the universe?
My story is no where near being done yet. I have dreams of being married, being a mom, adopting, and traveling more but God has all of my trust now. I'm all in. He knows my dreams and desires and I trust that He will take care of them. His plans are greater than ours can ever be.
“My thoughts are nothing like your thoughts,” says the Lord. “And my ways are far beyond anything you could imagine. For just as the heavens are higher than the earth, so my ways are higher than your ways and my thoughts higher than your thoughts." Isaiah 55: 8-9
Will you trust God with everything? He is holding his arms out and is so ready to take it all for you.
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