Page 106 - Evidence of Things Unseen

Both Feet In

s my working hours at the college were dwindling I came to sense that a transition was
Acoming again and that the Father would lead us out once more to trust Him entirely for
our provision. I also began to once more feel a lack of desire to remain where God had
temporarily placed me as a college instructor, desiring rather to be occupied in teaching the
word of God to the saints. On February 20th, 2003 a Christian brother from California
e-mailed me to make known an opportunity to manage a retreat center on a ranch he owns.
He had a vision for it being used as a spiritual training center and he felt that the Lord
might be calling me to be instrumental in raising up a work there.
My very first thought when I heard of this offer was that the Lord had led me to pray
for the past ten years that He would raise up a people in Middle Georgia for the praise of
His glory, and that this ranch being in California would be taking me away from seeing this
body raised up. Yet the Father had never given me a timetable for raising up this people,
and I considered that it was possible that He might be leading us to California for a time.
This seemed all the more possible because my wife had only seven weeks prior flown out
to California to spend time with a close friend, and all she had talked about since her return
was wanting to move to California.
The timing of this offer was just right for me to be able to give notice at the college that
I would not be returning, and to finish out teaching the present quarter. Also, our lease
would be up at the end of April, and this brother in California shared that his current
caretaker for the property would be leaving in May. As I was convinced that a transition was
coming, and I felt released in my spirit from the college, I gave my notice that I would not
be returning to teach the next session. I shared with my wife that whether God took us to
California or not, I was convinced that I would be doing something different by the time my
birthday rolled around on May 7th. My college duties ended on March 19th, and at this time
we were still unsettled about California being our destination, not having heard a final
confirmation from the Christian brother I had spoken with.
As a family we began to pray in earnest that God would show us His will. Tony,
Kristin, Josiah and I began seeking God daily for direction. On March 25th we still had
heard nothing definite regarding the move to California, and feeling like we were in a state
of limbo, we gathered together and prayed that the Father would direct us. The ranch had
sounded like a wonderful opportunity, for it would bring my wife close to her friend in
California, and the location was very scenic. It was located right next to Yosemite National
Park, being surrounded on three sides by national forest. It had a view of the Sierra Nevada
mountains and a lake stocked with bass and perch. Yet with all of this natural attraction,
we sincerely prayed that if this were not the Lord’s will for us at the time that the door
would be shut. We voiced our heart’s desire to the Father that we would rather be in the
middle of a desert with Him, than to be in a paradise without Him.
The very next morning the answer came. The brother who owned the ranch e-mailed
me to tell me that the situation had changed and that some things had been
mis-communicated to him. The caretaker that he thought was moving, actually had
intentions to stay on, and he felt that he could not ask him to leave. This left us in a bit of
a quandary, because I had left my employer in anticipation of God moving us to participate
in a new work somewhere, and now we had no door open before us.
A week passed with our family being in the situation of not knowing what God was