Chapter 40 – To Move or Not To Move

God Hears

Psalm 37:23-24

“The steps of a good man are ordered by the LORD: and he delighteth in his way. Though he fall, he shall not be utterly cast down: for the LORD upholdeth him with His Hand.”

Micah 7:7

“Therefore I will look unto the LORD; I will wait for the God of my salvation: my God will hear me.”

Changes seemed to be accelerating all around us, some quite unpleasant, which caused my mind to wonder what God was asking of us or not asking of us; questions for clarity, wisdom, understanding and counsel were fast becoming dominant in my daily prayer petitions even more than usual which is saying a lot. As discernment of the times continued to become more evident so did our need for direction and God’s Peace to steady us against growing and turning tides.

Wanting to be closer to Peter’s family was also prominent. We had more than a few conversations with them to hear their thoughts and to share our own. It seemed everyone was supportive of such a major undertaking and so we continued our prayerful search and for timing. We knew we had our aging pet family to consider and were also pursuing what should be done for career transitions. All requests and concerns were placed before the Lord regularly. There was an unusual pressure about so many things in our life and we were doing our best to stay surrendered, walk in love and forgiveness toward people of ill will that kept popping up around us in the strangest ways, and to remain in God’s Peace. At times this was a real struggle. We had a couple friends looped in along with family and we were grateful for the extra prayers.

Kaiyah and I went out on mini mission hikes and occasionally to her favorite local trailheads. Sweet Kaiyah preferred to sleep more and to go on shorter walks unless it was a dirt path. If it was a dirt path and didn’t have many people on it she would go and go. As usual she set the pace and chose the direction the majority of the time. Every now and then she still wanted to jump in and out of the SUV. I was making sure to be her lift service except a couple of times when she got the better of the moment and managed to attempt it on her own. I had been attentive to her since that first incident letting me know she was slowing down and yet she still managed to surprise me. The few sneaky jumps after that original fall were relatively successful but one.

That one was in the parking lot near the foothills main trailhead. She was full of energy and couldn’t, no - she wouldn’t - wait for me to help her and that day she crashed down onto the asphalt. She had popped out of the SUV with a smile on her muzzle and leapt out like she was a teenage dog full of vigor and excitement. But her older legs and back weren’t able take the brunt of the gravity of her own weight and she fell flat. She looked bewildered and I am certain it didn’t feel very good. I prayed as I immediately went to her checking head to paw and on to the tip of her curly tail for any signs of hurt or anything that wasn’t right. My heart was racing as I calmly and securely got her back on her paws. The minute she was standing on her own she shook off the whole thing and lunged toward the path of her choosing. I had to hold her still a few moments so I could assess everything and quiet myself. Everything looked alright. I got down on my knees and hugged her neck as she patiently waited for me to give the green light to get going.

That look she gave me was like a feisty determined older person who stumbled and fell, was disoriented, and yet eager to just move along all the while saying: “I’m alright. It was just a little fall, don’t fuss. Let’s get going.” In that moment her desire to keep going and enjoy the day overrode my concern. And with loving encouraging pets and tears silently falling under my dark sunglasses, off we went. She chose a long but fun set of paths for us. It was a beautiful and sunny late spring day with meadowlark calling from the sage brush, doves cooing in nearby trees, and a kestrel on the hunt darting through the sky. When she had accomplished her long mission trek we slowly walked to the SUV and I lifted her most carefully into her safe space. We had a good drink of water together and just sat there for a little while enjoying each other’s company. She had that happy but tired puppy face and so I closed up the back and we went home. She rested well after a few treats, the usual welcome home Pumpkin roll, Gideon meow n’ flop and Cotton’s greeting of melodic whistles. She seemed ok minus a little stiffness in her back legs which the vet said would be normal.

After sharing what had happened with Peter we were both more determined than ever to keep her from any further attempts of jumping up or down from the SUV. Peter lovingly coined the term for her during our lift or lower action as “vertical dog” and that is exactly what she was doing, going up or down. However, we kept her physically horizontal just like when she stands. She sure kept those legs of hers straight and true ready to stick her landing as we securely and gently maneuvered her.

That late summer we had discovered a property worth investigating in an area we had been eyeing for quite a long time. That one was a dandy but didn’t work out for us. It left us a bit confused, disappointed, sad, and relieved all at the same time. We discovered later that it had foundation issues so we knew that once again the Lord was looking out for us. The folks who bought it were able to do the work to correct it being a general contractor so it was indeed a win-win for everyone. “A man’s heart deviseth his way: but the LORD directeth his steps.” Proverbs 16:9 and Psalm 37:23-24 were just a couple of many Passages we were holding on to. We wanted God’s Will. We didn’t want to fall but to have our Lord Order and Direct our steps…wherever and whenever He would lead us and for whatever reasons He Knew. We knew we belonged to our Papa God and that He was upholding us with His Hand. Praying, surrendering, trusting, seeking, listening, waiting, loving and obeying Him; we determined to stay in that faith pattern no matter what. The perfect time to strengthen faith muscles... or to let go completely, that too comes with discernment and proper timing.

The resounding question “to move or not to move” was demanding us to decide if we should put our home on the market or not. That decision was huge. Where is the line for the “leap of faith”? We wrestled over timing, consequences to our small fur and feathered family, Peter’s family, things that had happened to us or not happened, our ministry, work and lives in general. It had not been an easy road being where we were but our home and property was lovely and fruitful, a true blessing and a sanctuary. God had already brought us through so much. Yet we still had a great deal on our hearts and many contradictions that instigated feelings that were unsettled. We were in a battle, in a tug of war, from external situations which only added to what we were struggling with internally. Again we sought to recognize and be in God’s Will, to be closer to love on family and enjoy long-time friends, to flourish in all that God would have for our lives and to be a blessing to others while finding our country home and the new missions that would come with such a move.

Our hearts and desires the Lord Knew full well and we would have to wait and see, watch and pray, and keep on asking until we knew what to do or what not to do despite all the memories and emotion commotion. Marmi, more often than Pops, would say, “There’s a storm brewing! Batten down the hatches!” That was always a cue for dirty weather or difficult circumstances coming and that it was time to hunker down in Jesus, cling to His Words, pray, get ready and be ready as much as one can.

Our animals seemed to know something was afoot as well. We huddled together as often as we could while sorting through what we were to do or not do as we went about our daily lives. Their companionship was a great comfort as we looked to the Lord, waited for Him and trusted that our God would hear us. Micah 7:7 “Therefore I will look unto the LORD; I will wait for the God of my salvation: my God will hear me.”

 …Until we meet again…