Do you ever look back and think, “That was the start of a
chain of reactions. That’s when everything began to change”
For just a moment I’d like to reflect on one of those
pivotal moments in my life.
Mike and I got married in 2010. That same year we purchased
our home and it happened to be down the street from his brother’s house. Having
family just 5 houses down and access to your niece and nephew at any time was a
huge gift! I had a new husband, a new home and family close by - I was feeling
pretty satisfied J
Although, I did have a prayer. Like I said I was pretty
satisfied and I didn’t want to "push it" with God, but I still prayed that perhaps Mike and
I could meet new people. Maybe we could create a group of our friends as apposed to his
friends or my friends. Maybe we could
even make friends with our neighbors? And
maybe do traditional activities like light fireworks together on the 4th
of July or have the occasional BBQ.
In my experience, God answers our prayers one of 3 ways:
Sometimes it’s NO
Sometimes it’s NOT NOW
And sometimes it’s YES
The answer to this prayer is one I had never experienced. He
answered with a BIG FAT YES WITH A CHERRY ON TOP!
Long story short, we did meet our neighbors. Their names are
Drew & Ginny Townsend. In fact, they are the neighbors smack dab between
our house and Mike’s brother’s house. So there was no avoiding them, lol!
Let me pause here and say one thing – this is the point for
me when “everything began to change”. And instead of telling the HOW of this experience, I’d rather
discuss the WHO and the WHAT of the experience.
Let’s start with the WHO
part of the story:
- We met Drew & Ginny and discovered they were
our age, did not have kids, and were Christians – a rare find! We were
immediate friends!
- They encouraged us to attend church with them
weekly (something Mike and I had only been doing occasionally).
- They provided us with an example of a Godly
marriage (who has that now-a-days?).
- They challenged us with prayer (something Mike
and I definitely did not do together).
- They taught us to dream big and expect great
things (we were more of the play-it-safe mind set).
Ok, I could go on and on but the point is, they were that
accountability piece that Mike and I as a couple were missing in our faith. They brought us
a new and fresh perspective on marriage and life. This type of influence caused Mike and I to change a few
things and that’s when the WHAT part
of the story happened!
Here’s WHAT
happened:
- Mike God baptized (insert wide eyed emoji).
- We decided to seek out and meet regularly with Christian
marriage counselors/mentors.
- We became generous – we give time and money to
people who need it.
- I got a job working at Bayside (me working at a
church?).
- We’ve become incredibly social and influential
with other young married couples.
- We started a small group, that turned into a
medium group, that turned into a large group, that turned into a “nation”.
This is the chain of reaction I mentioned before. One action
caused another, that caused another, that caused another.
They taught us to aggressively peruse our faith. To take
action. To pay it forward. To be the support to others that they were/are to
us. To not just enjoy the blessings but to spread it around to everyone else!
To be infectious with the awesomeness that is Jesus!
There’s this quote from a movie that I love and it goes, “You
are everything I never knew I always wanted”.
Do you ever feel like you desperately want something but you
don’t know what it is? Or you find something that lights you up in an
unexpected way and you can’t believe you ever lived with out it? The you I’m identifying with in the quote is
not necessarily Drew & Ginny. The you I’m
referring to is Him. Drew & Ginny were simply the tool He used to help Mike and I discover the
kind of life and love we could have. It was like we were living in a 2
dimensional world and through the Townsend’s He helped us see the 3 dimensional
world.
I bet you’re wondering why I’m writing about these cool
kids. Well, after 4 years of living 3 doors down, they will be moving. Good news
- they are staying in town! Bad news - Drew will be leaving for helicopter
training for a whole year. UGH! But Yay for the opportunity, lol!
I’m watching from my kitchen window as the movers pack up
their house. I can’t help but think of all the wonderful things that happened
in their house. The challenges, the insight, the discovery, the laughter, the
tears, the dreams, the food and most of all the people! I know this move and change is not the end of a friendship
but it’s causing some major reflection on my part.
So, here’s the conclusion
I’ve come to: I think sometimes God finds our desires not too strong but rather
too weak. I think we are too easily pleased. I don’t think he want’s us to pray
sheepishly or feel like we’re ‘pushing it’ when we pray. I think he wants us to
pray big. To pray huge. To pray outrageously! I mean, I prayed for neighbors to do
fireworks with and he gave me neighbors to do life with!
So cheers to a new job, a new house, and a new chapter. May
God do exceedingly and abundantly more than you can ever imagine!
