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Friday, November 16, 2012

Five Minute Friday: Stay


Five Minute Fridays make me happy!  Joining in with, as Lisa-Jo calls it, this flash mob of writers is inspiring, encouraging and just plain awesome!  Here are the rules of participation:

1. Write for 5 minutes flat – no editing, no over thinking, no backtracking.
2. Link back here and invite others to join in.
3. And then absolutely, no ifs, ands or buts about it, you need to visit the person who linked up before you & encourage them in their comments. Seriously. That is, like, the rule. And the fun. And the heart of this community..


Today's prompt: Stay

We came to this inland southern California town with absolutely no intention of staying.  In fact, as I paced our tiny box of a house in the scorching heat, I told my husband in no uncertain terms that I didn’t WANT to stay after he graduated and could we PLEASE move anywhere else, thank you very much! 

Four years later my husband graduated and we took a year-long position in what I thought of as a dream place to live: San Diego.  Beaches and museums and cool summers, oh my! 

But when we would make the hour and a half drive up to our old inland city, I would sit in our little church there, tears running down my cheeks, missing what now felt clearly in my heart like home.

We cast the job-search net wide the following year.  I was praying/rooting for a Midwest job.  We got hired at a university 35 miles from that inland city my husband did his doctorate.

So we moved back to that place I had scorned and longed to leave and it felt like slipping on a well-worn tee shirt, that fits just right and feels so good.

That was seven years ago.  There have been job searches every year since.  We are always willing to go, to follow God’s direction to some far-flung place.

But God has said, for now, that we should stay.
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Time's up!  

4 comments:

  1. Oh I love it when God clearly directs like that.

    And I also think God must sometimes shake His head at our wants and desires and how He already has that all worked out!

    Stopping by from Lisa Jo's

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  2. Sometimes God says stay, sometimes He says GO. The gift is being able to listen. Great post. I hope you have "warmed up" to San Diego :)

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  3. Thanks for the kind comments, friends :). Julie, San Diego is now our favorite place to vacation! Having lived there for a year, we have our favorite restaurants, beaches and other fun activities. You are right, sometimes God does say GO! I remember when He told me to GO to the Midwest from California after college. That was my favorite GO so far!!

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  4. and how glad i am HE keeps saying "... no " he hee!

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