First:
This move has taught me many things. As I walked last week I felt the Lord say to me that the realization of wanting and needing to relocate was a surrender.
Isn’t that an interesting concept? I am not a contemplative writer, nor a contemplative thinker. But, I do ponder and my heart and spirit are always open to hear what the Spirit is saying to me.
Surrendered.
Interesting, Lord – and I get it. I have surrendered to the knowing that I’m not 55 years old any longer and that living in the mountains was becoming harder and harder. I have surrendered to the knowing that I did not want to have so much “stuff.” I have surrendered to the fact that I never wanted my daughter to have to go there and sort through it all.
THAT is how our, God and my, conversation went two or so weeks ago as Sam and I walked through the town on sidewalks. I say that because it is one of the things I told my husband I wanted when we moved. A neighborhood with houses, people, and sidewalks.
We both had to surrender.
Surrendering is not succumbing. We surrendered to what we both knew was truth and God’s direction for our life. There is great joy and peace in surrender.
Second:
Never for one moment do I want anyone to even ‘think’ I am a believer in luck. I am not. I am a believer in a Sovereign God who is faithful, kind, encouraging, and full of hope and life. A God who still speaks to His own – now don’t go all legalistic on me – I cannot imagine a person who has been born-again by the complete work of Jesus Christ’s life, death, resurrection, and imminent return, to not hear Him. Most of you know what I mean and for those who don’t – I’m terribly sorry!
Years ago I desperately needed to hear from the Lord about a hard situation. I was praying and praying and praying, begging the Lord for a sign, if you will. He gave. I was walking out of my husband’s woodshop, crying out to the Lord in my spirit for this situation and I looked down and saw it – a 4-leaf clover.
Sidenote: As a child I was forever searching for them. I would sit in a sea of clover and beg God to let me find one (I used to sit on the wall of the inlet and pray to catch fish too!) – I just never was able to find that desired quad-leafed clover!
That particular day as I cried out and I reached down and plucked the emerald gem from its patch – I thanked the Lord.
Several years later (2012), another need arose. I walked to the end of our country road, stood on the bridge over a babbling creek and cried out to the Lord again! “Father, I need to know You are in and over this situation.” I walked up the dirt road and right under my next step? A four-leaf clover. “Yes, Lord, thank You.”
Several years after that, another family crisis. I mean, for months – perhaps longer, I prayed. I cried. I beseeched. I begged. “God, I need a sign.” I was walking through the yard, right below a gutter leak – rising above a little patch of green. Four leaves. “Yes, Lord, thank You.”
Three incidents (how many kids do I have? wink, wink) God’s confirmation was given to me in a four-leaf clover! In between those desperate times? I never found one!
This past spring, as we went through the process of selling our home of 30 years, I kept asking the Lord for His sign that this is the right thing to be doing. I walked through the yard and ‘looked.’ Never saw what I yearned to see. I prayed for God’s good, acceptable, and perfect will. I asked Him to roadblock the sale IF it wasn’t what He wanted us to do.
He began opening little windows of light. After two disappointments with two different couples, couple #3 showed up. The rental near my daughter’s home became available. My husband finished a huge wood project.
Lord, is this going to happen? Are You going to move us? Will we get out of the $ale what we need? Lord, I need Your sign. I need Your blessing.
We struck out in faith. We signed a lease for the flat. We began moving our stuff. I moved my work office and on June 9th we spent our first night. I kept asking the Lord, “Are we good? Is this going to be okay? YOU know we cannot carry two home$ for very long.”
Tuesday morning, June 12th, 6:15 a.m., Sam and I began, what has become, our normal morning walk. Sam stopped to water a tree and I looked down – there it was (photo above). I reached down and plucked it and put the stem in my mouth because those things tend to wither quickly! I walked 40 minutes with that four-leaf clover in my mouth. I thanked the Lord and you know what He said to me when I asked Him what took so long?
Why would I have given you this any other place but here? This is your new home. Everything is going to work out fine.
Yes, Lord, thank You.
Seventeen long days later we closed on the house. We got exactly what we asked. We were living exactly where we wanted.
Luck? NO CHANCE.
I like to call it HOPE fulfilled.
xo
Hope fulfilled indeed!
Smiling as I read this! As a child, I too would search for 4 leaf clovers, and love a sign from God; Having hope because God has the perfect plan for us, for good…(Jer. 29:11). Thank you Jesus! Hope you’re sitting under that fan down there.
Jan, shall we sit in a field of clover together at the Nesting Place?
INDEED!
God is faithful..
Congratulations on your new home..
Thank you for sharing..
Carol, thanks for checking in!
“Now hope does not disappoint because the love of God has been poured out in our hearts by the Holy Spirit who was given unto us.” (Romans 5)
Thanks for this great post, Susan-the-Contemplative-Clover-Finder
Yes, I shall now be known as the CCF!!!
Deer are always my word from the Lord! Luck? Nope a heavenly text message!
Deer are pretty up there for me too – in sets of THREE.
Beautiful and much needed today!!
Love you!
Then I’m glad I could be the HS delivery woman today!
Love love love this!
A lot of family history in those clover findings, eh?
Also loved this. A ray of HOPE from above!
SO MANY RAY’S!!!! Let’s go to Judges together for lunch!
Sus,
Thank you for sharing your lovely story. It is always good to hear how things are going for you in your new surroundings. We sincerely wish for you all good things in this new chapter of your lives
I know you do, Ali. Much love – are you still getting rhubarb? 😉
I love this. I do believe God gives signs. Shelly Miller writes about the Lord sending her arrows. Isn’t it neat He is a personal God?
I love hearing about your new home – and I’ve been a long-time lover of new beginnings. Enjoy!
Jerralea, SM does write about arrows. Very neat. Thanks for the reminder.
I LOVE this! Wonderful stuff. Thank you, Susan!
Kathy
Thanks, friend. xo
Such a hope-filled testimony! Praise be to God.
Where would we be without HOPE!
Oh I love the little hope-notes He sends to us, reminding us to trust in Him, the biggest HOPE of all!! Our living Hope! xoxo
The key is to see them and discern them!
Oh moving is one of THE biggest surrendering test of life! You have to surrender things, relationships, special spots and your safety net! Not to mention surrendering your house! I’m glad you have time to contemplate and process! It looks like you’re making yourself a beautiful new next!
Carol, the surrendering of our home was the easiest part! Time to go!
Beautiful story. I love when ‘Godprints’ appear and He gives us confirmation. Mine is the Monarch butterfly (land) or dolphin (sea) that God brings to say, “I am here”.
Your daughter will be grateful that you didn’t leave that for her; but I feel she is enjoying having you so close most of all! Having just gone through that, I know the joy of finally having family close by.
I look forward to seeing what comes next in this journey of yours 🙂
Monarch’s and Dolphin’s — good Godprints! xo
Love this so much!
Love you… Where’s Mr. B?
Hope fulfilled indeed! xo
I N D E E D.
LOVE this blog. Your “walk” encourages me greatly. Moving near our kids, my 20+ year prayer, won’t happen due to many issues, but there are other things He has provided. The number #1 provision is HIMSELF. The 11 tribes of Israel were given portions of physical land. The Levites were given GOD as their portion. When one has the LORD GOD one has it all.
I’m reading a novel by P.D. James. She is/was an English writer who, as my other author friend said, tucked a mystery in her novels, in this book is describing a priest who after serving God many years, dies without seeing his “detective” friend who knew him as a youth. But, James, in her fashion, wrote something about the priest that struck me yesterday.
He would tell his young congregant that “this was the spiritual life.” As a Christian I’ve foolishly looked for the wow, the extroidinary work of God. And He does that! But, truthfully, being born again to this New Life in Christ and abiding in Him “is the spiritual life”. We don’t have to look elsewhere for more. God is the MORE.
This probably doesn’t make sense to anyone but me. I’m better at talking than writing but I hope you get the gist. We are living the spiritual life daily IN Christ JESUS. We need not look for another. JESUS is our portion.
WELL I GET IT.
I had a similar situation where I needed to know that God was present, active and true to His promises. Every time it rained i would go outside and look for a rainbow. for 17 months I did this. Until one day at the beach I was sitting in the edge of the surf with my kids and off in the distance there was a rainstorm that I didn’t pay much attention to it, but in a minute one of my kids said, Look mom, a rainbow!! Turning around I saw the most spectacular bow over the ocean. stunning. and just at the right moment. perfect!
ALWAYS ON TIME. Thank you so much for sharing, Karen, and visiting HHH.
Hope fulfilled for sure! And I have a special affinity for the word “surrender”. Sometimes it’s in the letting go, we find what we were meant to find all along.
Mary, isn’t that the truth? The older I get the wiser I get!!!
Susan, thank you for sharing the Hope that never disappoints. It was a joy and an encouragement to read your testimony of God’s goodness. Blessings ♥