The smoke became thicker with each passing mile. A forest fire burned on the edge of town and now crept toward their house—would it even be standing when I arrived? Would my wife’s parents be ok? So many thoughts raced through my mind as I rushed to help. I pulled in the drive—the faint outline of the house materialized through the haze. There were flames on the roof! I ran toward the house wondering where this would end. Before long I was spraying down the roof, smoke billowing all around. I thought, “We’re not in Nashville anymore.” This wasn’t how I imagined our first week in Idaho.
Just an hour ago I was at home, praying for Heidi’s job interview, when the call came about the fire. Then Heidi called and said the job we thought was a slam dunk, the job we were counting on for health insurance, didn’t look good. The potential boss said Heidi had to choose between work and family. We both agreed that wasn’t the environment for us. Now we were wondering how to pay for the medication for one of our children that cost $50,000 per year without insurance. What else could go wrong? We began to wonder, had we misheard the Lord? Had we run ahead of him?
Isaiah 30:18 says, “Therefore the Lord waits to be gracious to you, and therefore he exalts himself to show mercy to you. For the Lord is a God of justice; blessed are all those who wait for him.”
Even though we weren’t sure how this was all going to work out, we knew He had called us to move. I was able to get the fire out on the roof, and the rest of the house escaped without damage. We gathered as a family at home that evening and gave thanks to God for protecting our family. We prayed for wisdom and direction. And then we waited. While we waited, the kids started school. We joined a church. I kept writing songs for Seeds. And we kept praying for finances to work out.
About that time we received a check in the mail. I had written a song with Matthew West a few years before that was finally doing well, and the check came in right when we needed it. Not long after that, the perfect job for Heidi came along. One day I started writing songs with our pastor. And he said, “Why don’t you build a music studio at our church?” And Seeds Family Worship entered into a new chapter.
God provided our jobs later than we had planned, but He provided everything we needed. He was our refuge and strength as we walked through that difficult transition. God was faithful to us.
Has your family ever moved to a new place? How did God provide for you during that move? What ways did you need to ‘wait’ on Him to provide?
God, help us to listen to your promptings in our lives. And when things are not clear, help us to wait for your direction and guidance. Give us patience and faith to trust in you in the midst of uncertainty.
