Come and listen, all who fear God, and I will tell what he has done for me. Psalm 66:16
When my husband lost his job in the spring of 2023, we were not sure what God was going to do in our lives. We ended up moving out of state, leaving a home we loved, to take a church in an area with a much higher cost of living. We were not sure we could afford a home for our family of six. And, in fact, we couldn’t. We rented for the first time in our 16-year-old son’s memory, which was not the end of the world, but it felt like a setback. Even though we were excited about our move, it was hard to see what God was doing.
In early May of this year, on a Saturday morning, we woke up to this view from our new deck. After renting in Colorado for 18 months, we moved into our new home.
This home is a gift from God. We looked and looked at existing homes and could not find anything in our price range that would fit our family. After several months, our landlord, who is a member of our church and a home builder, offered to build us a home at cost.
Six months later, it was time to move again, this time down the road. When we moved to Colorado, we did it all on our own (because when you fire your pastor, you don’t help him move.) Last summer, my husband, Michael, hurt his back, which was still healing, and he was not going to be able to move anything. Though our church had been asking about this move, and we had emailed to ask for help, we had no idea who would show up.
We started moving on a Friday morning with three men and myself. After about an hour, one of them started calling others. We had 10 more people show up, including two teenage boys. They moved 80% of our stuff, including setting up our beds, in 4 hours. Someone brought us pizza. Someone else brought us cookies. Five people showed up the next morning to finish up the move. Another couple brought dinner Saturday night. Several checked to make sure things were hooked up/set up. One guy texted and told me he would help us hang things when we were ready, so Michael does not have to risk hurting his back again.
The entire process of buying and moving into our home has been so redemptive. Our church loves their Pastor and wants to care for us.
Over and over, we see in scripture that God is a God of redemption. Jehovah Go’el, the Lord my Redeemer. Not only does He bring freedom from sin and death, but He also redeems and restores the broken places of our lives.
We left our previous church broken. And in this mountain church, we are finding healing for our hearts. They are evidence of God’s redemption and restoration in our lives.
I am so grateful.
