Like a river, we encounter obstacles and challenges. The river overcomes these obstacles by wearing them down or finding a path around or through them. We do the same with our difficulties. Like a river, we must go on. Notice that the flow never stops. It continues until the ocean is reached. The river never passes the same place twice and is only at that certain point for the precise moment it is there. It flows immediately to the next point in its journey. We only have the moment God has given us and cannot pause our life. At times there are massive floods, huge waterfalls, and raging rapids. Then there are the periods of smooth and peaceful flow. The river will at times change direction because of obstacles encountered, but will continue the journey to its goal. When one path is blocked it seeks another path.
In some ways it feels as though the last year has had the greatest change we've ever had. Maybe not so much with physical changes but there has been a shift in our minds and a definite change in how we handle life.
Looking back, Eldon and I both admit now that for several years we had been feeling a little unsettled and that just maybe Arkansas wasn't where we would live forever. We dealt with it by putting down deeper roots and throwing ourselves into the church and community like never before. There are no regrets about that, because you only get from life what you put into it.
By last spring/summer there was no denying that God had change in mind for us. However, there was no clear direction on where to go next. We were rather stubborn and doubtful and proceeded on with life, praying and hoping for direction. Several times we "layed out a fleece" and waited for an answer. After God answered not one, but several of those specific prayers in very specific ways, we knew the next step. But we had no plan beyond that, and it simply doesn't make sense to step forward blindly if you have no plans. The logical thing to do was wait until God opened the door number two, right?
Wrong. Eventually God won and we took that first step. It's still mind-blowing to us how immediately things began to click into place. We had always said that if we moved we would like to be near family. Hillsboro, Texas, where my parents are, was the most sensible place. But we were not sold on any place. At all. Within 2 days of that first step of obedience my little sisters had a free ride up and the opportunity to stay with us for 3 weeks. We were given the chance to host their friends who brought them for the night. These people just happened to be the Pastor of the church that my parents attend.
By the time my parents came up 3 weeks later to pick the girls up we were sure that we were moving and were exploring options. They asked us to come down for a week in October and take care of the girls and their chicken barn while they go on a cruise. We jumped for that opportunity to explore the area and church a little more.
Meanwhile, we had began to look at property in Texas as well as selling our home. We quickly realized that until our house sold we were not in any position to buy another property. Uggg. This led to exploring other options and living in a camper for a while came up. I was still reeling over the thought of living in Texas and adding a camper to the idea really stretched my imagination. But, it was the practical thing to do and I'm a very practical person so I stretched my mind a bit more.
In the process of the next few months God confirmed our decision several times over. We found a beautiful camper at a great price. Already, we had been on a minimalist kick but thankfully God intensified that desire and made it SO much easier to sell a lot of our belongings. Other items got packed for storage. Our week in Texas in October was wonderful. We loved it. We loved the church. We built a storage shed on dad's property for our stuff that wouldn't be in the camper. We put our house on the market and made plans to move to Texas before Christmas, whether our house sold or not.
At this point Eldon was still unsure of what he would do for a job. Finally he was ok with checking into travel nursing short term, since the pay is good and he wouldn't be committed to a hospital long term. We had no idea how long before our house would sell or where our new property would be and that could make a difference where he looked for a job.
For over a month we parked at my parents. It was bliss. Living in moms backyard. The children could see Grandpa's every day. Eldon could fulfill his farmer's itch by helping my dad. The church was so welcoming and we felt spiritually filled and over flowing. We made new friends and the children loved having 60 other children to romp around with instead of 6.
And then Eldon started looking for a job. Would you believe that the only one that came up and worked out was in Brownwood, Texas? Three long hours from dads and church. I was beyond upset and could not understand what God was trying to teach us. It was super hard at first but now I see that it was an important step for me in that I learned to be happy and content and that people is really all that matters. I'm still not sure what the purpose of it all was but we did really enjoy our time there. Spending hours in God's beautiful outdoors cultivated our desire to see and explore even more of it.
During this time we came to realize why so many families love living the full-time life. I want to say that we realize this is not for everyone but we began to thrive in our relationship with God, each other, and our children. Being forced to focus on each other instead of yard work and house work was really good for us. We began to realize more fully what God's purpose for our life was. In addition to closer relationships as a family, we also have much more contact with random people on a daily basis.
In more recent months we have come to fully embrace and enjoy this lifestyle more then ever. I personally have come to the point where I am thrilled instead of embarrassed to say that we live in our camper. We have no idea how long God wants us to continue doing this but we are open to his will. We've met a lot of amazing and also a few just plain weird people along the way :). Eldon and I have both found such peace in accepting this and being ok with not living the American dream.
Our house is still for sale. So far it's had three contracts on it and two have fallen through. Each offer has been a little higher so we're good with that! By the way, if anyone needs a fantastic realtor in the Harrison area, we've got one for you. He may not have sold our place yet but he sure has worked hard! We are so excited to get it sold and be out of debt but in the meantime we have wonderful renters and it gives a teeny bit of security to know we have property somewhere! However, this does limit what we can do since we are tied to that mortgage payment.
This post was written mostly because we've had several people questioning us about our long term plan lately. It really got us to thinking about how our minds have been changed so many times over the last year and how evident it is that God is behind it all. So really? We don't know. We simply take one day (or 13 week contract) at a time and know that He will show when he wants us to change our course. Thank-you for being involved in our journey and we would love your prayers!
I really like being able to come here and check up on y'all!
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