This post has been a long time in the making. We have been planning for quite some time to move back home to Aiken. This is the story of how God continually orchestrates our lives...
When we married in May of 2011, we wanted to "leave and cleave" and had no attachments...or so we thought...in Aiken. We decided Charleston was the place we could make home. Off we moved into our 425 sq ft studio apartment and we had a wonderful year. It was very nice living 25 minutes from Folly Beach! We both found jobs and enjoyed living together and learning each other. There were trying times we had to figure out how to relate to one another but it was a wonderful learning experience. This was definitely in God's design for us to be away from our families so we would rely on one another and we will always look back with fondness on our time living in Charleston.
When it came time for us to sign another lease, we started talking about moving closer to Aiken. I don't know what it was, but neither of us were ready to "go back". I can't describe it. It was as if we knew our ultimate destination would be Aiken but we were putting it off for whatever reason. The two and a half hour trip from Charleston to Aiken was just getting to be a little much so we decided to move to Columbia. It was far enough and close enough all at once...or so we thought...about 6 months after moving here we started to question if we had made the right decision. We were (and still are) happy here but we haven't really "settled" and our trips to Aiken to visit our families have gotten more and more frequent. We seriously started talking about moving back to Aiken at the beginning of October, when we found out we were pregnant! This news brought up so many questions. Would I go back to work? Where could we live? Would Baby J have to go to day care? How were we going to do this?
Amidst all our questions God was speaking. Not specific, clear plans like I wanted, but just a "be still, wait, and don't worry." Bless Brad's heart, he never worries about a thing. I'm not joking. He literally doesn't worry about anything. It's one of the many things I adore about him. He is very trusting that God will take care of it and we shouldn't worry. After a year and a half of him preaching this to me and God telling me to trust Him, it finally set in. So we waited and prayed about future plans and spent a lot of time not worrying. I won't lie and say there were never secret panic moments inside my Type A/OCD head but my heart has been steadily waiting.
I won't go through all of the specific details but I will say all of our plans have come together and God has all the credit. I could never in my life have planned out what is actually going to happen. He has blessed us so greatly with the opportunity to live in a townhouse in Aiken for a very, VERY affordable price so that I can stay at home with Jeremiah. He took care of insurance problems, financial problems, and is taking care of my growing child. He is so faithful to us and just wants us to trust Him and give Him the chance to declare Himself...He has definitely declared Himself.
Life lesson learned...don't worry, trust God because He will work it out better than you ever thought you could.
We are actually moving home to Aiken on my birthday, April 20. Great birthday present, right? We are so beyond excited to live close to our families, live in the place we met and fell in love, and raise Jeremiah in our home church. As a mother, the greatest blessing out of all of this is to be able to stay at home with Jeremiah and be a full-time homemaker. This is truly my heart's desire and now that I'm on the home stretch of my pregnancy it's sinking in this is actually happening. I cry just thinking about it. I love my little boy. I can't wait to meet him.
The only thing left to find is a job for Brad. He went on an interview last Wednesday and thought it went really well and had to go back Friday for testing. We're waiting to hear back from this company but there is also a different possibility in the making.
We are trusting that God will take care of this just like He has taken care of everything else and we know He will. Many times we forget He has our best interest at heart. He knows our needs before we do. He feeds the sparrows, clothes the lilies and knows when a hair falls off our heads. I hope this testimony speaks to someone and that everyone who reads this will be reminded of how great He is.
"Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make your paths straight." -Proverbs 3:5-6
"Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear...But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself." -Matthew 6:25, 33
"Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God." -Philippians 4:6
With love,
Hannah Elise
