Isaiah 55:8-9

Has God ever asked you to do something out of your comfort zone? Have you ever said Yes to Him and that seemingly crazy idea?

 

Sometime in the late fall I was praying for my husband Mark. I was praying that the Holy Spirit would move in his type A personality. I was praying that God would shake his introverted self in a radical way.

Around November 1^st our new pastor moved to town. After church that day I casually said “When his family moves up in January we should have them over.” Mark said how about just having Don over on Friday?

I dreaded it. Friday’s are my big draining days. But I said ok. I FB messaged Don and invited him to dinner. He said yes to 2 strangers and 4 kids .Friday came and it was great. We had lots of things to talk about…until we came to ask him where he was staying. IT was the scary movie motel. This place is rough….gulp! He needed to stay there until he could move his wife and kids up after Christmas. He also needed to sell his house to be able to buy a new one quickly.

 

Mark woke up the next morning bothered. He said to me I think Don should move in with us and this is how it’s going to happen.

 

Up to this point I had been praying for Mark to be moved not me. For Mark’s eyes to be open to opportunity not mine. Stretch Mark I’m stretched enough.

God had other plans.

 

Several weeks of trying to contact Don passed. I thought ok God we were obedient but it’s not going to happen. Mark finally got ahold of Don and in no uncertain terms told him he was moving in here with us…and for as long as he needed to.  He said he would move in Dec 6.

At this point I began praying over my calendar. I was praying Psalm 119:37 “Turn my eyes away from the worthless things.”

I texted Don, the invitation is for Jamie and the kids as well. Stay as long as you need our house is open.

 

This was a new level of crazy. 11 people! But they said yes.

The list was long why I shouldn’t have invited them. The list was long why he should have said no. But Don moved in Dec 6^th and moved out Jan 4^th. He moved in with strangers. He moved in with 4 young homeschooled kids. He later told us that he knew it was God moving, he could hear it in Mark’s voice.

The kids gave up rooms and beds and their bathroom. We gave him a garage door opener and a key. The kids adjusted to bunking with one another. Our lives were turned upside down. And everyone was excited.

For the next 2 weeks we got to know Don really well. The kids fell in love with him. It took them that long to figure out what he did. They knew he was pastor Don but they looked at him like uncle Don.

On December 27 Jamie and the 3 kids (16 davis,14 drew,13 julia) moved from TX to Ohio. We had 11 people living in my house for the next 8 days. My kids willingly gave up beds and dresser drawers and normalcy and quiet.

I got a glimpse of what living with teens looks like. They sleep A LOT, they eat even more and I’m going to have to increase my WIFI bandwidth

We ate, played games, and went ice skating, hiked, watch movies, and had a great time. We built relationship, we laughed, we teased, and became family.

Finally the call came and they truck had a delivery date. They would have their things back. Things they had not seen in a month.

My kids were sad when their new teen cousins left. The teens were sad to not be living with their favorite Ohio aunt and uncle.

Mark and I had no preconceived notions about friendships. Neither of us secretly hoped to be BFF’s with them or into the inner circle of cool.

But God did something way cooler with these 2 introverts who were willing to say yes to 2 extroverts.

I get texts from the kids wanting to come over to sled for the first time in snow. Or the kids begging to come home with us after church so they don’t have to stay all 3 services waiting on mom and dad. Or the teen boys choosing to sit with us at church instead of mom and dad. Or all of them wanting to serve in my kids classes. Or the weekly hugs! Or the genuine friendships among all 11 of us!

Don , Jamie, Mark and I are developing an amazing relationship. God is using 2 families who heard God’s voice and were willing to jump in and say yes. What is God asking you to say yes to today?