Be Careful What you Wish for

It's been several years since Ted and I have been hoping, wishing, praying and thinking about living in Colorado. Both of us separately fell in love with the mountains when we were in college. Honestly, as superficial as it sounds, I think that is what initially attracted us both to each other. I remember dating Ted and thinking, 'I need to marry this guy because he is always going to push me toward adventure.' Ted loved that I didn't wear makeup and that my favorite shoes were chacos, which really aren't fashionable in Dallas.

Several times we constructed possible plans to make the move to Colorado, but nothing felt right. We were sure that God wasn't opening the door. When the company that Ted works for opened a Colorado position, you would have thought that we would JUMP at the opportunity. Surprisingly, we were really cautious. We thought about it for a couple of days. Could we leave my sweet family, with all my niece and nephews just 45 minutes away? What about our great church with such powerful leadership and an awesome children's program? And then there is our neighborhood, with the two sweet widows on either side of us, the two families our age with kids who love to play with ours, and the 10 year old girl who runs across the street to help me with the kids. Could we find anything this sweet? We even thought about our pediatrician, and of course our friends. Were we selfishly seeking adventure at the risk of our kids and our friendships? It all felt confusing and incredibly difficult.

Then, we prayed. We prayed that God would bend us toward HIS will, and not ours. We prayed that He would give us such a deep desire for one or the other that we wouldn't be able to say 'no.' We talked to several people, and even looked at houses online. After many conversations, we felt a peace about Ted applying for the job, but I have to admit that both of us felt SCARED. We were excited but still so unsure. When Ted came home from the interview in Colorado, it felt like the mood of our conversations changed from fear to pure excitement. He had seen the city surrounded by mountains, spent time with his best friend who lives there, and even went on a small hike. We realized that not only was this going to be a beautiful place to live, but a great career move for Ted. Before we knew it, God answered our prayers and gave us real enthusiasm for the possibility.

The next couple of days played out with as much suspense as a Batman movie (at least for us). Ted knew he was up against other qualified candidates and was really unsure if he would get selected. I was really proud of Ted, for how much he poured his heart into the job interview. He worked so hard to represent his qualifications, and what he had learned in the workplace. In looking back at his career journey, we realized that he had been working toward this opportunity for 10 years. It was what he had always wanted to do, and finally, with the experience he had under his belt, he was qualified to do it. I have to insert here that God is so detailed with his timing. Even though this journey felt painful at times, it's so clear that everything we endured was part of God's sovereign process. Ted is the man he is today because of it.

In every way, His timing seemed to be impeccable. Several of our financial contracts were ending in May, as well as Fin's schooling. The night before we were to find out the result, Ted and I were just sick to our stomachs. It seemed like everything reminded us of Colorado. I sat down at the computer, and up popped a picture of Ted and I biking in Colorado. Ted was flipping through Finney's baby book and noticed that I had a few pictures of us in Colorado. When I went walking, I saw a car with a Colorado license plate. I decided that either God was playing a cruel joke on us or that he was preparing to unveil His big blessing. When Ted and I got the news that he was chosen for the job, we just cried. It was clear to us, that God loves us far more than we have ever deserved.

Lastly, the company paid for Ted and I to take a trip to Colorado, to get a feel for whether or not we would like it there long-term. We were certain that we would love every minute of our time there. Surprisingly, it was really emotional. We spent most of our time touring around the neighborhoods, looking at houses. The reality of moving to some place unfamiliar and extremely different began to haunt us. We reached out to friends for prayer and encouragement. After agonizing over it for a few days, we realized that our only reason not to move was out of fear. God was clearly moving us in this direction, and we needed to TRUST Him.

So here we are...preparing for a huge life-change. We are still very nervous about all the unknowns, and really sad to leave our loved ones. But, we feel confident that God has chosen this path for us, and excited to see what is going to happen in this big adventure.

"I love the Lord because He hears my prayers and answers them. Because He bends down and listens, I will pray as long as I have breath!" Psalm 116:1,2