Unless God says "No," I'm Gonna Go

One week ago, my mom and I were in Austin, Texas. We had a wonderful time, but as much fun as we had exploring a city that we'd never been in before, that wasn't the main emphasis of our trip. If you've read my previous posts over the last couple of years, you know that my life is on a journey of sorts. This trip played into that God-driven journey.

Lord willing, I will be finished with one leg of my schooling journey by Spring Break of this upcoming school year. After winter term, I will have my associates degree and ready to embark on the next part of this exciting journey. There have been some setbacks as to my plan these last couple of months, but God's timing is still faithful and I fully trust His plan.

Just a few weeks from now, I will walk away from the job that I've had for the last 14 years and trust His provision to go to school full time. God is good and I know He is looking out for me. For now, I continue moving forward in faith until He says otherwise.

This leads me to our trip to Austin. If you know me, you know that I love adoption and how it represents the gospel of Jesus Christ. I long to serve by working in the adoption realm and getting a degree in Social Work to do so. While I need to find a new school to finish this degree, I also feel that God is leading me outside of my comfort zone and to a new city. Austin, to be specific is where I feel led. After much prayer and research, Texas has more opportunity in this realm than Oregon.

This is not a decision that I have made lightly and I have put much prayer into it, and have had confirmation by godly people and the Holy Spirit in this direction. One more major confirmation occurred this last weekend. I went to Austin praying (as were many other people) that God would make it clear if this is where I was supposed to go or not. There were no voices in the clouds, mysterious dreams, or writing on the walls, but there was peace and there were no red flags or clear "NOs."

I met with an academic advisor at a potential school and got a basic view of the town. I visited a church and felt right at home as soon as I walked in the doors. It is very different in a lot of ways than the church and town that I currently live and serve in, but something just seemed right. I am not saying for sure when I will move and I am not saying that the direction won't change if God makes it clear that it needs to, but I can safely say that it is looking more and more likely that I will be moving to Austin within the next year.

Some things still need to line up, but I will keep taking steps of faith and following this path that God has me on in obedience. For now it seems that I will need to find a place to live and a job first and foremost in Austin before continuing my education, but I trust that God will provide what I need. I will keep moving forward until He says, "NO."