(This is part 3 of my journey to the Mid-West. Read part 1 and part 2 here)
Hey everyone. I've been in the Mid-West now for 2 1/2 months. It has been such a fantastic adventure. I look back on the journey it was to get here and I cannot help but praise the Lord. Only He could have fashioned a story like this.
When I last left off, I had been living with the Cs for about a month and a half. During this time I had been praying about the whole journey north and for the most part I was able to lay things down before God. There were days though that the worry would start and my chest would get tight and all I could do was cry out to God. He is so faithful. He is ever faithful. The big things that I had been praying about were 1) my car 2) a job and 3) a place to live. I kept praying and laying things down, but there were no answers. About 2 weeks before I left I was praying about a job and I felt the Lord whisper to my heart that I wouldn't hear back about a job until I was on the road.
Wait, what?!
I just sat there and prayed again and felt the same response. I knew I could only have two reactions - I could freak out and give up or I could have faith and a little courage. Now that I'm on the other side, I cannot tell you just HOW thankful I am that I chose the latter.
God was handling my job. That left my car and a place to live. I had applied for jobs in Wisconsin and Minnesota, so housing was going to depend on where my job was, which just left my car. Franny (my 1998 Ford Explorer) had gotten me around since the summer after I graduated from High School. She made it back and forth to college and even to the heat of Phoenix, but I knew it would take some work to get her road worthy for the journey I needed her for. As the date for leaving kept getting closer and closer, I kept praying and again wasn't getting any answers. One of the guys had a friend who was a mechanic and was willing to take a look at it, but the timing never panned out. Julie (the woman I was living with) made a call and got my car into the shop she goes to. This was Thursday, March 5th. I was leaving Tuesday, March 10th.
During this whole process I could only rely on the Lord's strength. There was absolutely no way I could do it on my own. Thursday afternoon I got a call from the mechanic, he told me things were not good. He was straight up and said that even if he fixed everything he could, he wouldn't put his daughter in it to drive across the country. I said thank you and that I would call back. My heart racing, I picked up the phone to call my Daddy. But the Lord tugged on my heart and I could hear Him asking, "What about me? Have I not been your father these last 6 weeks, this last year and a half? Will you trust me with this too?" I sat there stunned. When rubber had hit the road, I still didn't turn to the God who never leaves me nor forsakes me. I started praying and pretty soon brought Hannah in on the loop to pray as well. Julie called to see if I had heard anything and I told her everything. Ten minutes later she called back to say that she might have a car for me. Part of me was stunned, but the other part just smiled and nodded. This is the God who created the world in 7 days, is it not?
That night, I went and talked to the boys and we worked everything out. Friday I left to go to Prescott with a co-worker to help teach a class at the Wildfire Academy. I got back Sunday and tried to track down the boys to get the title to the car. No luck. I prayed and cried and prayed and cried and asked God again and again what He was doing. I told him that if I hadn't heard back by 9:00pm about the car, that He would have to provide something else. At 8:50 the boys called and said they would have the title the next day. God had worked everything out.
Monday was a rush of cleaning out my storage unit, packing, moving furniture, and taking the car to the shop to get some much needed work done. There was stillness in the midst of the crazy. Precious moments with new friends in the fray of moving across the country. The entire day was clouded with peace. Really, I had no choice BUT to trust God since I was leaving the next day. I had the title to the car in my hand at 5:59pm. The notary closed at 6:00. Praise the Lord.
Looking back on the weeks leading up to my departure from Phoenix makes me shake my head in wonder. I am so incredibly thankful for the people who played big and small roles in getting me on the road. We truly cannot walk through this life without community and people. Most importantly, we cannot live this life to the fullness it was intended without God. I wish I had time to tell the you about the tiny in-between moments that truly showed me the character of our Lord - that He loves us, always provides, and cares about the little things. For now, you'll just have to trust me with the evidence in the big things. :)
-Katie Jean
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