Measuring the past 10 years

Ten years ago this weekend I packed up my 3 children and all our worldly goods--and 2 cats--and moved over 200 miles to Thomasville.  I left my dream job and some awesome friends for the good of my children; and because God told me to.

Isaiah 30:19b "How gracious he will be when you cry for help! As soon as he hears, he will answer you.  Although the Lord gives you the bread of adversity and the water of affliction, your teachers will be hidden no more; with your own eyes you will see them.  Whether you turn to the right or to the left, your ears will hear a voice behind you , saying, "this is the way; walk in it."

For me it was EXACTLY like that.  It was scary and overwhelming, but clear that it was God's path for us.  Every test of proof I asked for God answered.  The new job had to pay our moving expenses.  DONE.  I had to move before second semester of high school started for Nate.  DONE.  I had to find a rental house in the school district I wanted for the boys.  DONE.  The job had to equal my current salary.  DONE.

So we moved on a COLD night in January, the holiday weekend. The plan was to follow the movers who left in the afternoon, but who is every really finished moving out on time???  So with a couple of great friends help we were finally ready to leave, but in the dark. 

The test of my faith came after 10:00 pm when I heard that awful bump, bump, bump of a flat tire in the middle of nowhere sandhills NCarolina.  When AAA travel club informed me by phone that they would NOT come to help me (DON"T ASK ME THIS STORY UNLESS YOU WANT TO HEAR EMOTION!) my faith was in the pits.

That's when the miracle started and God showed me what was in store for our cold little family.  Ryan, the 12 year old announced that he could change the tire.  He took over, told all of us what to do and he and his brothers changed that tire even with the car packed full of stuff and got us back on the road.

In these 10 years God has turned that sullen pre-teen into a 2nd Lieutennant in the US Air Force.  He turned my teenage music groupie into a Worship Leader/Song writer.  He turned an angry 8 year old into a young man with Africa on his heart.  And proved to this mom over and over in 8 years of single parenting that He would direct my path.

That's alot!  No wonder the term decade sounds so impressive!  And what God can do with our lives when we follow HIS direction....that is immearsurable.