Generation NeXt Parenting

Leaps of Faith

There are times in our lives when we take baby steps of faith. Then sometimes God asks us to take LEAPS. This is one of our leaps:

It all started around 1994, we had some friends who had been to Kalispell, Montana and fell in love with it. We lived in Anderson, CA (near Redding) at the time. John was just finishing college and we were trying to decide what to do next.

The more our friends talked about it, the more we got excited about moving to Montana. John tried and tried for a good job around the Redding area, and he couldn't find anything worthwhile. There was also a lot of bad influence coming up from the Bay Area--drive by shootings, etc. We knew we didn't want to raise our kids around there.

At the time, John worked for a small business building computers. He got like minimum wage, but some commission too. He usually sold about two a week.

Well, one day we talked about it, and we decided we just go for it. We knew we'd need money to move, and money to live on until John found a job. We figured it wold take a few months to save that if we really tightened our belts. So John went to work and gave his three-month notice. We sat down together and prayed that God would make His path clear.

The next day at work John sold 11 computer systems! It was enough to cover all the money we had planned on saving! We were blown away, and we felt as if God was showing us that this was His plan for us.

When the time came, we had a friend who offered to haul all our stuff up for only the cost of gas. Other other friends had moved up there at the time, and they said we could stay with them until we found our own place and until John found a job.

Our families thought we were NUTS ... we had three kids ages 5 and under and we were moving 1,000 miles with no job. In fact, we hadn't even seen Kalispell, Montana before!

We drove into the Flathead Valley and fell in love. The day after we got here we found a rental. One of our friends had saw a sign in the yard, we went to check it out and the owner showed up. It "just so happened" that she forgot something and had to leave work to come and get it. Rentals were hard to find at the time, but we knew God was in control. We moved in right away.
We spent a few weeks getting to know the area, and then John got a job at Plum Creek. It was a computer job--a far better one than any he'd applied for in California. And we found out that Plum Creek is a Fortune 500 company, but it "just so happens" that their main techonolgy center is where we live. Six months later we bought our first home.

So, we've lived here eleven years. John loves Plum Creek and he's now a manager over an entire computer division. We found a great church and started a fun children's ministry. I've been able to stay home with the kids, homeschool them, and pursue my writing dream.

Yes, it was a huge step of faith, but we felt confidence the whole way. Not confidence in ourselves, but in God. And we discovered that great things happen when we follow Him.

So, what about you? I'd love to hear some of your LEAPS of faith.

posted by Tricia Goyer @ 8:02 AM