We Are Moving Across The Country To Oregon… Say What?

Guys… I’ve been an absolute hot mess lately. I’ve laughed, I’ve cried, I’ve stayed up late going through my clothes for the umpteenth time trying to figure out what I could get rid of. But most of all, I’m thankful for a God that loves me more than I deserve and knows his plan for me, us, and our family. God has provided for us in such crazy ways.

A little back story…

We went to visit our friends in Oregon who went out on a church plant about 18 months ago. There were many reasons for this trip. One, we love vacations, two, we missed our friends dearly, and three, we wouldn’t have to pay for August’s airfare until she turned two. Originally, we had thought about going with the church plant when it first went out, but then we decided the timing didn’t feel right. But, during our trip, God was tugging on our hearts. We fell in love with the place, the people, and the church. Our hearts broke for all the people there who don’t know God yet. And during prayer, both hubby and I thought God was maybe calling us to this amazing place 2,200 miles away from our little town in southern Illinois. But, we continued to pray and talk to those we trust about it for a few months to make absolutely sure that was what God was doing.

God provides..

A few short weeks ago, hubby flew to Oregon for some job interviews and to find a place for us to live. God provided us with not one job for him, but two. He ended up going with a job that he was less familiar with, but the pay was higher and it included benefits for the entire family. What job has that anymore? Hubby got to sit and meet the man he will be replacing shortly. While chatting, the man told him he thought about retiring two years ago, but the timing just didn’t seem right. Which is exactly what we thought to ourselves two years ago when the church plant was announced. God has a plan for us. One of the best parts of this new job is that, as of right now, I can continue to stay at home with August. And as a requirement of the job, I have to visit the office often with sweet baby girl. What amazing sweet ladies that work there. I firmly believe that God orchestrated each detail.

In addition, the housing market in the part of Oregon we are moving to is crazy. Rentals are snatched up immediately. We had a list of places to look at, and by the time hubby was ready to look at them a few short days later, they were already rented out. While driving around the area with a friend, they stumbled upon a house that had been sitting on the market for 3 months. It was perfect! Everything we wanted in a house (minus the 70’s vibe… beggars can’t be choosers, y’all): it’s in an amazing neighborhood, has an open floor plan, 1.5 baths, laundry on-site, it’s a house and not a 3rd story apartment (that was our other option), it allowed a dog (they agreed to allow both our dogs to my dismay… haha), and even has a yard and garden. Plus, they just lowered the price because it had been sitting on the market. Seriously, I can’t make this stuff up. 

God has provided us with the funds to be able to move and friends and family to help make the journey. Time and time again, we have crazy stories about how God has provided for us just when we needed it. Like when our air conditioner died over the summer. My grandma decided to give us our inheritance then… before she even knew that it had broken. When we came home from our Oregon trip, we found a basketball-sized hole in our roof. Super fun. We had roofers out and most of them told us not to bother with trying to go through insurance. I’m so thankful we didn’t listen to them. We went through our insurance, and they gave us a lot to cover the roof. Plus, what a great selling feature! A new roof. Seriously, I wonder all the time how God can be so gracious to us. He loves us more than we can imagine.

What now?

We’ve packed up the house, closed the door on the moving truck, and said goodbye to our amazing friends here in southern Illinois. Which, of course, has been the hardest part! Our friends here are the most wonderful people. I always wonder to myself how will I ever find another Libby? Although, with the blog, I guess Libby is stuck talking to me all the time… muahaha. And what about the rest of my wonderful friends here? I’m so thankful for the amazing people God put in our lives, and there is no replacing them. I remind myself that distance doesn’t dissolve a friendship, but may rather require more of it. Thankfully, we have an extra bedroom to host any who come to visit.  I am excited to see what God will do and how he will use us in Oregon. And now, for those friends of ours who moved away 18 months ago that we’ve missed terribly…here we come!

By the way, anyone need an old, but renovated house in southern Illinois? I have one. I trust (on most days) that it will sell in God’s timing. Which will hopefully be sooner rather than later. Carrying a mortgage and rent will be super fun. 

Just so you know… I totally cried through the majority of writing this. And every time I reread it.