Sometimes, out of nowhere, God moves you in a direction that you never knew you’d go. When Blaise was only a baby, God told me to get ready to move. I did. In between newborn feedings, raising our two other small kids, ministry life, and homeschooling, I began the process of downsizing everything we owned and getting ready. I didn’t know exactly where we were going, but I knew we were moving.
Bryan and I started dreaming together and praying. We were those weird backyard chicken people. We were planting fruit trees in our small yard and considering how many small goats we could fit into our place without the other neighbors noticing. We began to realize that we wanted more property to raise our family on. We wanted our own homestead. We wanted to be self-sustainable, so that the lean seasons of ministry wouldn’t be so hard on our growing family.
The problem was that we were living in an upside down market. We had planted a church- not exactly a stable source of income in the banking world. I had downsized my web design business to survive a really hard pregnancy. We weren’t exactly stunning examples of financial success in that season.
Even still, I felt prompted to pray and ask for property, so I did. We started looking around at all of the homes that were available with land, and few were in our price range. Every time a property was- we’d pray about it, and it would sell. We joked that realtors should pay us to pray about their properties. We could sell them fast.
One Sunday, Bryan took a different route than usual to our church, and he passed a sign that said an 8.5 acre property was for sale in the middle of Gautier. Immediately after our church service, we drove up a dusty driveway to check it out, and I knew we were home.
The fields were overgrown. A broken down barn was neglected in the woods. A white shack stood worn out at the end of the driveway close to where a house had been and wasn’t anymore. In the back corner, one of the largest oak trees I had ever seen was standing in all of its glory and might. While Bryan was carrying baby Blaise and chasing free spirited Abby and Pax across the fields, I stood under the great arms of that oak tree and was overcome by the sheer sovereignty of God. The fact that a tiny acorn had beat all of the odds of centuries of hurricanes, floods, droughts, and wars to become what it was today was overwhelming. The oak tree was displaying the incredible majesty of God. I felt prompted to ask.
Bryan and I gathered around the oak tree holding our small children and prayed an impossible prayer. We asked for the property. I’m pretty sure I cried. I left in peace with expectation.
Months later, Redemption Square Farm was ours. A year after God had prompted me to get ready to move, we did.
The story of how God unfolded the whole story and every single detail is beautiful and worth telling another day. The truth I want to share is that God often answers our prayers through the sacrifices and gifts of others in the Church. The calling we have in our lives isn’t about our self-sufficiency. It’s about His. Every single blessed step of obedience we take creates a ripple effect and resounds throughout all eternity the glory and goodness of God. Our obedience blesses those around us infinitely more than we can ever anticipate or imagine.
This past Sunday as we hosted a HUGE Reformation Day celebration on our farm with our church family and new friends, I was overwhelmed by how the sun made the old oak glow with a heavenly glory once again in the background as Bryan preached. I was reminded again. Our prayers and our callings are about so much more than us. They are about God’s Kingdom, about the glory of God, and about all people knowing His Son Jesus.
This brings me to you. Sweet believer, if God is prompting you to pray for the unimaginable, ask. He is a good Father. Your story isn’t about you. It’s about Him. That’s a good thing.
Who is waiting for you to say yes… to dream bigger with Kingdom inspired vision? Who is waiting for the fruit of your obedience, your simple loaves and fishes offered in faith, that God will use to nourish and feed a multitude?
“Now to Him who is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or thing, according to the power that works in us, to Him be the glory in the church by Christ Jesus to all generations, forever and ever. Amen.” Ephesians 3:20