I have encountered several people who have said that since it has taken so long to sell our house that it must not have been God's plan after all. Or that God wanted us to learn something else along the way and it was never about packing up and hitting the road.
Don't think we haven't thought of these things and prayed fervently to God to make his way clear. There have indeed been times when God has pushed on in a certain direction in life but the whole lesson was really about something else and we never achieved what we thought was the ultimate goal.
What's that saying? It's not the destination, it's the journey.
It is more important to us to do what God wants then for us to be right. It would hurt our pride a bit to have God suddenly say, "No, it's not really about you traveling the country for a year, it was about what you learned along the way or the people you met. It was simply to see if you would take that great leap of faith and trust me."
So we have gone back through out the past year and reexamined. What prompted us to try to set out on this journey- was it something we wanted or God wanted? Did we pray about it and seek God's will each step along the way? Did we see God step in during the past year to make things happen?
Every time we have reexamined we have come to the same conclusion:
- We in no way ever wanted to sell our home and live in an RV for a year with our family. So this was not birthed out of our own personal desires.
- God was the go to guy in each step of this journey and we always followed his prompting and leading for each and every decision. We weren't just doing our own thing. Each twist and turn has been God's doing.
- Nothing shows that a dream or goal is God-breathed more than when he makes his presence known through doing the impossible. We have seen this happen during the past year also. We had no idea how this would all work out at all, but he keeps putting the pieces in place.
Often we think if we are in God's will then things will happen FAST! Tell that to Noah who built a boat for 100 years Was Noah not following God's will because it took a long time? What about the Israelites? Ok, they were being punished for 40 years for disobeying, so maybe that isn't a good example. But God still delivered on his promise in the end.
I read the following this morning out of the book Draw the Circle: The 40 Day Prayer Challenge by Mark Batterson:
"Until recently I attached an ASAP to every prayer. I wanted God to answer as soon as possible. But this is no longer my agenda. I don't want easy or quick answers because I have a tendency to mishandle the blessings that come too easily or too quickly. I take credit for them, or take them for granted. So now I pray it will take long enough and be hard enough for God to receive all the glory.
I'm not looking for the path of least resistance; I'm looking for the path of greatest glory. And that requires high-degree-of-difficulty prayers and lots of circling."
Isn't that the truth??
It reminds me of those that come into wealth very quickly or easily and then squander it away. Those that have lived with out, have struggled financially and had to work for every dollar tend to handle a windfall or increase in wealth better. They appreciate it more don't they? And they are more likely to give glory to those who helped them achieve their dreams.
I have people who I haven't seen in a long while ask me,"Oh are you back now?!" I laugh and say we still haven't left yet. I then explain that I have come to the realization that God knew we would be in deep trouble if we hit the road right away last year after he first laid this journey on our hearts.
We have acquired so much knowledge of RVing over the past year. We would have been risking our lives if we would have just jumped in last year with such limited knowledge and experience. We were prepared to do that at God's calling(as scary as it would have been), but he knew that it would be better to give us time. I greatly appreciate that now!
We will continue to reevaluate God's direction in our lives, because our prayer is always that he take the reigns no matter what direction that may lead.
But for now, God is making it clear that we are still working towards traveling the country for year.
Here is my new prayer:
"I'm not praying ASAP prayers; I'm praying ALAT prayers. As Long As it Takes. I'm going to get in my prayer circle and I'm not coming out until God answers. This does not mean I'm forcing God's hand. After all, we can't force God to do anything! It just means I'm praying with confidence. I believe that God never overpromises or underdelivers. He always delivers on His promises, but He does it on His time!"
~Draw the Circle
Many Blessings,
The Mama
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