“Your are only one prayer away from a different life.”
I read that quote at the top of a prayer journal I started back on January 3, 2016. It was so appropriate because the first thing I knew I would be journaling about was the crazy idea that I believed the Lord had put in my head about moving just six months prior. At that time, I was living in Southern California, longing for something different. I had always known deep in my heart, even before I knew the Lord, that just because I was born and raised in California did not mean that that was all there was for me and that I would have to be “stuck” there. So, there came a time in which I started to dream about where I would go, if I could ever be so daring to leave.
As a married woman and mother of four, it wouldn’t be an easy task to just get up and go. It would take a lot of prayer, time and belief that it could one day happen, because you see, there was no real reason for me to up and move other than a deep seeded desire. Of course, a big part would be to give my children a better future than what we could offer in California, so as a believer, I began to pray. I wanted and asked the Lord for clarity. I knew that if this was something that the Lord would have for me, it would take Him to give my husband the same desire. I was asking the Lord for guidance as to where He would have me go because I had a desire to move out of state, but really no specific direction.
On January 19, 2016, I have a journal entry that is a reminder of the night I asked my husband if I can pray with him. I have to add that I rarely pray with my husband, unless l truly feel led by the Lord to do so. I truly felt led to pray with him on that particular night and ask the Lord with him as to where and when we could have a chance to move because I had already been patiently waiting for direction for over six months without clear answers. I needed the Lord to speak and to be very clear. I was believing that if I included my husband in my prayers, there could be progress in hearing from the Lord. The Lord was faithful. I woke up the following morning clearly hearing Boise, Idaho. It sounds crazy, I know. But, I continued to pray for confirmation and the Lord continued to be good and faithful.
When I heard Boise, Idaho, I will be completely honest and say that my reaction was, “Boise, IDAHO?!” and with hesitation to the idea. Yet, trustingly, I began to do my research. I knew nothing of Idaho, but began to like what I was l learning. I came to fall in love with the idea and continued in prayer. I continued to journal along the way, as well, and came across this quote, “The only way you can fail at prayer is to quit praying.”
I would like to fast forward to present time. My current address is in Idaho.
It was a year and eight months from when I got this crazy idea that I seriously wanted to move when I heard my husband say he decided that we would be moving! It took some time because he really didn’t have the same desire I did initially, nor did we have a job or family or anything calling us to Idaho other than the fact that I had been in prayer and know that I know that the Lord had answered when I asked where. The timing in which my husband decided that we would make the move lined up with my desired time frame and was in the Lord’s perfect timing. I’m not going to lie. I had my challenging moments along the way, trying to get my husband to see why this move would be great for us, only to have my attempts fail. So, in December of 2016, I let go and let God. I realized that if I truly believed in what I knew the Lord had spoken and revealed to me through prayer, that I had to give it to Him completely. So, I did, no longer bringing it up in conversations.
I had preferred to make our move before my daughter’s freshman year in high school and when did my husband decide we would make our move? He told me in February of 2017. He saw all of the things I shared with him as reasons to move all along and realized, it was time. We would be moving the summer before she would get started! We sold our house in April, moved to Idaho in June and had the best summer with our children we have ever had!
We came completely on faith. Two years had passed since I had began to pray and with that came answers, direction, and a beautiful place to call home. We have been here for just over four months and I am so happy with our move. I have complete peace, joy and confidence that this is exactly where the Lord led us. We came without employment, without family or friends, but in time, we were blessed with employment, we are building relationships and my parents are praying about moving here. I can’t wait to see what the Lord does!
Be encouraged.
“One bold prayer can accomplish more than a thousand well-laid plans.”