The Process

(Author's note: This post has been a long time coming. The last few months have been a whirlwind as you will soon see. Warning: this is gonna be a long one so get comfortable. Also, this is post #100. I couldn't think of a better subject to celebrate this milestone. Enjoy.)

It all started with a question. Most of the major events of my life have started with a question:

"Have you thought about going to Taylor University?"
"What would you think if I held your hand?"
"What do you think of the name, Riley?"
"Have you ever been to Buffalo Wild Wings?"

This was no different.

"Would you ever consider moving to the Midwest?"

This relatively benign question was asked by my brother in law a year ago in the parking lot of a Best Buy in Muskegon, MI. There was no agenda (that I know of) with that question. I thought that my equally benign (but honest) answer of "if the right opportunity came up" was the end. However, it was only the beginning.

My other brother in law heard this answer and said nothing. That is, until he was back home in Chicago, at church, talking to a friend, whose dad owns an insurance agency and was looking for a new agent.

Now, ever since I graduated from college, I have never left any job opportunity off the table. Truth be told, my first attempt at finding a job was mailing a letter (remember doing that?) to the captain of a fishing boat in Key West. I never heard back. Since then, I have held four different jobs as well as two stints working for my dad's construction company. I have never really known what I wanted to do but seem to have found a niche in insurance. I have been in my current job for 4 1/2 years which is 2 years longer than any other job I have ever held. I have enjoyed helping people understand something that makes no sense to them. Plus people like you when you save them money. Like all jobs, there are negative parts but overall I have loved my job and have had no thoughts of leaving.

So when I first spoke to Jordan, it was my attempt to just see if God MIGHT be working. I certainly wasn't looking to move. However, I would never turn any job opportunity down (except recruiting, I did that once and will never do it again) . After talking with him, I just didn't feel a peace about the timing. The job itself seemed great but something told me that it just wasn't the right time. So I declined, thinking that would be the end. But (wait for it) it was only the beginning.

Fast forward six months to the end of this summer. God had been very busy closing doors in Missy's and my life. Doors related to the future of our jobs. Doors related to the church we had finally settled into. It was getting to the point of almost being comical. God was CRYSTAL clear. He had other plans for us.

Independently and unbeknownst to each other, Missy and I had both had Chicago in the back of our minds. That is until one of us asked (there is that question again) the other if we ever thought about Chicago. After talking about it, we both agreed that God was working. For the past few years, we both had had this feeling of being in a holding pattern. We watched our friends and family get involved in things, have clear direction from God, be excited about what was happening in their lives. And we simply didn't have that. Not that we weren't happy with our lives. We had made some incredible connections and friends. We loved being close to my family. Our weekend trips to our place in Maryland were great. (To this day, the last thing Riley tells me before he goes to bed is that he is going to dream about the "bayhouse, boat ride and the beach".) But something was missing. God had been saying "Wait." Now we both felt He was saying that the time of waiting was over.

So we agreed to once again to get in touch with Jordan. And ask a question. "Is this opportunity still on the table?" We simply prayed before hitting the "Send" button, "Your will be done."

The answer to that question was yes. And that led to scheduling a trip out to Chicago to meet Jordan and his dad, Bill. And that was preceded by a month of panicking by me leading up to the trip. You see, I am a panicker. I experienced my first panic attack five minutes before I proposed to Missy (the first time). I handle uncertain and new situations, especially ones of this magnitude, with fear and anxiety. And overthinking. And then more thinking. And sleepless nights. It's what I do.

However, two days before the big trip, it all changed. I was as cool as a cucumber. I was the Fonz. I felt no anxiety (other than a little nervousness which is normal and understandable). I was at peace. And with that, I flew out to Chicago.

Two weeks later, after much prayer, thought and conversation with friends and family that I love, trust and respect tremendously, I told Jordan I would take the job. We took that scary first step.

Short of showing up at our door and telling us what to do, God made it clear through closing so many doors and opening one big one in the Midwest that He had a plan for us. If we loved Him and trusted Him and said we would follow Him, here was our chance. God was telling us to put our money where our mouth was. To not go would make us hypocrites.

Now since that time, we have been busy getting ready to go, specifically, with our house. We had grandiose plans for our house. Plans that would span several years. Those plans were either changed, fast tracked or scrapped. We needed to get the house in selling condition and we needed to do it fast.

And here is where I thank God for my dad. He is a genius in all things construction. We have leaned on him over the past two years to help us work on our house. Now, we had to lean, hang, pull and drag on him to help us get our house in shape in the necessary timeframe. And though it understandably is painful for him to see his family go to the Midwest, he has come through tremendously in making our house look BEAUTIFUL in a very short period of time. He has shown me what sacrificial love looks like through boxes of flooring and shingles and spackle and concrete. Thanks Dad.

So here we are. Once again in a holding pattern. Though now we know where we are landing. At least somewhat. I don't know Chicago. I know where I will be working. I know we will be closer to some family and our college friends. But that is it. Our first step has led to a walk of faith with many steps into the unknown. But we are confident that God led us here and that He will be there with us in the Windy City. And we are excited to see what He has for us.

If you have made it this far, thanks for reading. This is a little insight into the process Missy and I have gone through to make the biggest decision of our married life. Hopefully this will help you if you are in a holding pattern and/or seeking what God has in store for you. Just one last piece of advice:

Be careful of how you answer questions.