The Rest of the Story / Our Move to a New State

It has been quite a story and a year. A four-month traveling sabbatical, summer lake living, and finally a move to a new state. After being intentionally homeless for over a year and unemployed for over 11 months this is an update on the rest of the story and our move to a new state.

Rest of the Story

You will have to stay posted for my year in review blog coming out at the end of the year to get the complete story.  This is just an update blog on the past few months. See blog called What I learned from being Intentionally Homeless or Traveling Sabbatical if you want the beginning of the story.

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Summer Plans

This Summer we lived with our family, applied for jobs, enjoyed our friends and family and the wonderful Minnesota outdoor activities. Everything in the employment world moved at a very slow pace.

Fall Plans- God’s Plans

In the middle of September after applying for multiple jobs and having many interviews with no success, we planned to move to the southeast where there were good job opportunities and we would like to live.   We packed our trailer and we were ready to leave. 

 A few days before we were going to leave, my husband’s father got sick, ended up in the ER and then the hospital.  Finally, because of a sudden onset of terminal leukemia, he was put on Hospice care and brought home until he went to his forever home in Heaven.  

This was very sudden and unforeseen. We were able to help mom with hospice care, funeral plans, and her future. This was God’s plan for us to be there at this critical time.

Looking Back

There were many times during the summer we would say, “Why is job hunting so frustrating?”   We blamed it on COVID and the strange way interviewing was happening only online.   My husband had job interviews in Boise, ID, and Monroe, NC but being second or third place doesn’t get you the job.  We were frustrated and didn’t understand what God was doing.

I remember telling my husband, “When we look back I know we will be thankful for all the time we were able to live with family this summer and thankful for all the memories and time we spent with them.”  So true. God knew everything. We finally knew what God was up to this summer and Fall.

Now What?

Three weeks after our family loss, we said, ‘Goodbye” and decided we needed to get our bearings straight. On October 6^th we started living with our friends in Champlin, MN.  We didn’t know how long we would be there and planned to stay with our friends in Iowa next.  

While staying with our MN friends we cooked, cleaned, and did projects for them because they both worked and were never home.   We realized how busy a teacher and CFO are and became an asset to their lives.   We enjoyed this and so did they.

Job Interviews

As we lived with our friends, my husband applied for more jobs and added some different locations to the search. The interesting thing is three job applications started tracking for him immediately and the next week he had three interviews.

In over a week he again had second interviews. Two weeks later one of those jobs ghosted him and the two others were still moving ahead for more interviews. All of these interviews were by phone or online. By the end of the month, both employers were aggressively pursuing him and had offered him jobs!

God’s Moment to Shine

This was so like God to supply two job offers at one time after waiting for so long.   Both were great options in places we love with one in Arizona and one in Virginia. 

We prayed about our decisions and headed to our friends in Iowa on November 3^rd.   Both opportunities had pros and cons and there was no definite answer.  Our MN friend said, “My grandma would say flip a coin and if you have peace about the answer then it’s good.” “If not, then it’s the wrong answer.”   We mentally flipped a coin and both were good.  

My husband said, “God told me that we should make the decision and he was fine with either choice.” It would have been easier in my mind if God would have just told us where to go.   

The decision was made to move to Virginia. Since his job would not start until the end of November, we decided to head to Moab, Utah for a Hiking Trip after our friends in Iowa suggested it.  

Moab Hiking

During our traveling sabbatical in April they shut down Arches National Park and Canyon Lands National Park because of COVID and we had to make other plans.   My husband had thought if he worked in AZ this would be something he could do. Since he now had the time and we would be living across the country, this was the best time to go.

On November 8^th, we headed to Moab to take in the National Parks, State Parks, hiking, and biking.  My husband loved every minute of it and had us hiking or biking every day.   This was a great time in the offseason to get inexpensive accommodations and cool hiking weather.   I will be a writing a future blog on Moab, so you can plan a future trip or see my pics.

Our Move to a New State

After Moab, it was back to Iowa to pick up our trailer and head to Virginia on November 21. We are currently living in an apartment and looking for a permanent home to buy.   My husband’s job started Nov 30^th and God has ushered us into another new phase of our life.

As we look back at all the time we spent on our sabbatical, we are grateful. We met new friends and saw beautiful places on our travels. We also are thankful for the time spent with family by the lake this past summer, and time spent with old friends in Minnesota and Iowa.

God has his hand of timing and provision in our life and he has orchestrated every detail of our lives.   We live close enough now that we can drive to visit my husband’s mom for Christmas.  

God is Good

God is Good. In our waiting, God knew every detail of our lives.   He had it all planned and knows our future in VA.   We wait and hope in the Lord since he is our Strength.   God has a future house for us, a church, and a job for me.

I keep praying “Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than we can ask or imagine that is at work within us.”  Ephesians 3:20

Keep waiting and hoping in the Lord.   He can and He will. You just wait and see.

That is the rest of the story for now. God has plenty more things to unfold before us and we will keep you updated in this blog.   Subscribe so you won’t miss a post or comment below if you want me to add you to my subscribe list or subscribe at the bottom. You will only receive one email a month.   

Blessings to you this Christmas Season. Thanks for staying updated on the rest of the story and our move to a new state.

How have you seen God work in 2020 in ways you could not even imagine?