Do You Trust Him?

If God has taken an eraser to your story...are you trusting Him to pick up the pen? I read a blog here  that really resonated with me. It talked about how we have dreams and a plan for how we think our life is going to go and then God picks up an eraser and erases them...and it hurts!! We don't always understand why God has asked us to walk the path that He has laid before us, it doesn't always seem fair. But then God picks up His pen and starts to rewrite our story. So, do we trust Him with the re-write?

This has been an area that God has shown his faithfulness to us over and over again. I felt like this was the story of my life!! I did not think when I got married that I was going to spend so much time of our marriage away from my spouse. I mean, he was in the military when I married him, so I'm not really sure what exactly I thought that was going to be like! I just knew I was marrying the man of my dreams and I was moving to Hawaii!! Then we spent our entire 3rd year of marriage apart, I was not prepared for that. After that year, deployments started!

Then we had kids. Many things did NOT go as we thought they would! A major thing was when Little Man was born with a birthmark and then at 2 years old, had to have it surgically removed. That was a very scary thing and not part of the story that I wanted for him. He has a long scar on his back and every time I see it, I am reminded of God's grace and mercy and I am so thankful that my child is ok. We've had other scary medical things with our kids over the years...pneumonia, lymes disease, allergies, Sensory Processing Disorder, a dresser falling on one of our kids...all these things were NOT in the story I had written for our family! Thankfully, in God's re-write...the story has been full of His mercies and grace!

When it came time for Tink to go to school, that didn't go at all as planned. It was a miserable year for all of us, but then God brought some other homeschoolers into our lives. So we started homeschooling. God erased my dreams of what I thought our lives were going to be like, but he picked up the pen and rewrote the story...and it's SO MUCH BETTER!

When we were stationed in NJ and picked orders to go to CA, we were SO excited!! Then we found out we were moving to Washington state instead. This was difficult news to take! I did not want to go to WA. You can read about that here. God erased MY dreams of sunkissed skin and palm trees and beaches. But then He picked up His pen...and rewrote our story. We LOVE it here in Washington!!! Our church is amazing! The friends that we have here are amazing! I've never loved anyplace we have lived as much as I love it here!! The weather leaves a little bit to be desired, but the friends we have made make it not even matter! 

So we prayed for God to let us stay here! His answer was no. He once again has picked up that dreaded eraser! So in 6 months, we are now moving across the country, again, back to VA. Of course there are many great things about VA! But we SO love it here in WA!! Now I have to find my faith, again, to trust HIM to rewrite our story. And I DO trust Him. I know that He has a plan for us! We already have seen some of the blessings in the time Mr. M will have at home with us once we get there. It's ship duty, but he will be home quite a bit! I'd rather live ANYWHERE with Mr. M, then in my favorite place, without him!! 

We also have been praying that God would direct us in choosing a church in VA. I do a lot of research before we move so that when we get there, we can just jump right in to life in our new place. God has been giving us so much direction in this. I found this one church that has a service that is called a Household Worship Service and it is a family integrated service. That means no kids programs, everyone goes to church together. This intrigued both Mr. M and I. What would this look like for our family? We have always put our kids in the programs? But lately, God has been leading both Mr. M and I in a different direction then that. Also, in the past few weeks, God has been putting in our path blogs, articles, people, situations, etc, that all lead us to the same conclusion...the family integrated church. 

Yesterday, I had the opportunity to speak with one of the women at the church and it was amazing! First of all, it was like we have always been friends and were just catching up after not talking for awhile. God led our conversation in so many different directions and through that, I was able to ask about things I didn't even think I would be able to ask. Through her, God gave me peace and put aside all the reservations I had about it!! We talked for a REALLY long time, I just did not want to get off the phone! The conversation just flowed and it was so nice to know that we will find a place for us at that church in VA. I told her that I feel like God is practically hitting me in the head with a brick about this church. That I keep asking for more confirmation, and He keeps giving it! Mr. M and I will continue to pray about it, but I am pretty sure God has given us our answer time and time again already. 

As God rewrites our story from what I thought it was going to be, I will continue to trust Him with the rewrite. Do YOU trust Him with rewriting your story? Have you trusted Him as your Savior? God can and will do amazing things in your life...all you have to do is trust Him!!