No Place Like Home

"This is what the LORD says:


 'Stand at the crossroads and look;
  ask for the ancient paths,
  ask where the good way is, and walk in it,
  and you will find rest for your souls.'"
                                           Jeremiah 6:16


Ten years ago this spring this verse came alive for our family.  Dunn had asked Jim to transfer to Birmingham, and we wrestled with the Lord for the next 2-3 months.  How could we leave Hattiesburg--our friends, our church, our schools, our home?  Hattiesburg was home--and had been for almost 20 years! I remember the night, late January maybe, that Jim called a family meeting around the kitchen table.  He told us about the transfer and asked the boys and me to please pray with him about this decision.  Thus the wrestling match began. For several weeks I explained to the Lord why we didn't need to leave. We were happy--didn't He want us to be happy?  We didn't know a soul in Birmingham--why would He send us to the wilderness when we lived in the land of milk and honey? (Mayberry as my brother fondly referred to it.) We were serving Him here, and we were needed here.


Somewhere in the midst the Lord brought me to this verse in Jeremiah, and I began praying that He would show us the "good way."  Admittedly my prayers may have been a bit slanted, but I surely desired that "rest for our souls." How many hours Jim and I would talk through the pros, the cons, the possibilities, the realities. If the answer were yes, all of our lives would be dramatically different--our children's futures were on the line. We wanted to trust God, but...       


Jim had to let the company know by 8:00 on a Monday morning.  He politely told them no; he would just stay in his present position.  Oh happy day!  What a load lifted as I practically floated around telling everyone, "No--we're not moving! We're staying here!" (even though there was an undeniable gnawing in my heart.) That night Jim was pitching batting practice for Caleb's baseball team when he was beaned in the forehead with a line drive.  Now he had thrown countless pitches through his many years of little league coaching and had never been hit before.  By the time he got home, his forehead sported a big goose egg, and I remember how deeply discouraged he was.  We both felt as though the Lord had said, "Do I have your attention now?  You're not following My plan by staying." Still we didn't nail down the decision until a few days later while we were driving back from the funeral of a friend's dad.  We recalled the message about this man's life and how he had followed the Lord wholeheartedly.  Then we knew.  To follow the Lord in obedience, we would have to move. Ugh!


A whirlwind followed as we made plans to move--selling the house, saying goodbyes, trying to find another house, packing, more goodbyes... Our lives outwardly in turmoil but inwardly at peace.  At every turn God affirmed our decision (even when this frustrated me); there was no denying He was ahead of us navigating this new path. Even still those first months in Birmingham were incredibly difficult.  I missed our friends desperately; I missed Temple Baptist Church and Oak Grove Schools; I missed our home and our yard and our neighborhood.  I cried often.  "Why did we have to move, Lord?  Why?" Sometimes I felt as though He couldn't hear me.  But God (there's that beautiful phrase again)--in His love and compassion and His grace--brought us dear friends, another church family, and wonderful schools.  Ten years later I can say thank you, Lord, for not letting us have our way.  You expanded our territory and Jim's sphere of influence for Your kingdom and Your glory.  How many more lives did he touch because we were here?


This chapter in our family history also serves to remind me that this same God who sustained us, strengthened us, and blessed us in the move will do those same things for us in our grief.  I know He is with me today just as He was in those lonely days of 2002.  I am thankful for the spiritual leadership Jim displayed as he sought our family's prayers, counseled with me about the decision, but ultimately knew he had to make the final difficult call himself. I've often thought about how our boys will one day be faced with similar decisions within their families and how grateful I am for the example Jim set for them. 


In faith we moved to Birmingham, leaving behind a place that we loved--our home.  Birmingham has become home, but one of the greatest lessons I learned through this was the reality of Philippians 3:20: our citizenship is not here; indeed it is in heaven.  We nestle into the community where God has called us, building relationships, serving, struggling, enjoying His blessings. But we were ultimately designed for a different place: a home with our Heavenly Father.  He has plans and purposes for our lives here, and we prayerfully seek to fulfill those.  With perseverance we run the race marked out before us, but we rest in the hope--the promise, the assurance--that this isn't all--our eternal home is waiting--and there's no place like it.  Arms open wide, our Savior will greet us just as He did Jim: "Welcome home, My child!"  Oh glorious day!