April was the last
post, I see, as I begin to “get back on track.”
Why you might wonder have I neglected tapping the old keys? Would a major move seem a justified
reason? That’s the short version of the
last few months’ business. On to our
first time to ever live away from St. Louis except for during college.
Our daughter was
the first one to proposed the idea of Jim and me moving to Charleston,
Illinois, perhaps even before the moving truck pulled up to her home there. For some years, we had hoped she and her
brother would find their way back to St. Louis as many of our friends’ children
have. Jim had a well-used line about
there being 27 universities and colleges in the metro area—I finally told him
to put that to rest a few states ago, especially after both married people from
the Northeast.
Relocating once
the kids were settled had been a possibility.
Some time ago, I started praying for God to be preparing a place for us,
leading the way. The well-known John 14
verse about Jesus going to prepare a place for us started to have a wider
application in my thinking about Jesus, the good shepherd, who leads his sheep
to green pastures, etc. For any who need
encouragement to believe God hears and answers prayers—and what Christian
doesn’t—even the beginnings of this “adventure,” as my husband refers to the
move, prove Him to be wonderfully,
faithfully answering my request.
The last three
years, we have often attended Bonnie’s church in Charleston. She has asked for prayer for me during their
sharing concerns time, so we have some familiarity with the congregation and
they with us. As church ended this last
Sunday, two ladies in front of us whom we have some connection with were asking
for our address and mentioned having us come for dinner. About the same time, I felt a tap on my
shoulder; a friendly lady said she thought we were neighbors—and we are! As we talked, I learned some history of our
subdivision and much that we have in common with one another besides being
neighbors about the same age.
Beverly, my new
friend (I hope), has lived here for some time and remembers when this
development was a field of corn. Chuck
and Nancy, who own our duplex and several others, actually built the
neighborhood because Chuck “had a vision” of what this field of corn could
become. When I mentioned this to Nancy
when she called the next day, she added more detail, saying they named the
neighborhood “The Fields” because of the line in the Field of Dreams movie, “If you build it, they will come.”
And come we have,
intrigued before we even arrived by our duplex being in “The Fields” since the
field movie is a family favorite. We
first visited the movie set the summer the movie came to the theaters and have
returned three more times, each experience different from the other. To me, the movie wonderfully illustrates how
God can “speak” to us and give us faith for amazing things to happen.
The Bible says to
encourage one another, and I hope sharing just the beginning of our adventure--which
God has been preparing-- will encourage you to listen for God’s voice, then “pray
and not lose heart” (Luke 18:1) as you wait for God’s goodness to come to you
and those you love.
Your blogger from the field,
literally!
