Latest / The Rooted Family / Ep 13 | When God Asks You to Let Go of Something Good

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Ep 13 | When God Asks You to Let Go of Something Good · The Rooted Family

• Christian Cornish: Can I ask you something? When was the last time you actually felt at peace? Not just productive, not just caught up, but settled. Because most of us aren't lacking desire for a slower, deeper life, we're just stuck in the busyness that keeps us rushing right past it. We had just bought our dream home. Our kids were in an incredible school and we had the community we had prayed for for years and we did not want to leave, but we knew was asking us to. ⁓ what made it even harder is there was no ⁓ reason to go. In fact, everything in our life said stay. So today we're sharing the story of how we left everything behind. So in January of 2024, That's why we created the Slow and Savor Society. It's a snail mail club. Yes, it comes straight to your mailbox. It's a simple, tangible way to slow down each month with a piece of art, a cozy recipe, and a letter designed to help you reconnect with what actually ⁓ God, with your family, and with your own soul. if your life has felt full, and how we knew it was God. This episode is about how to discern God's voice the decision costs you everything. But to understand the weight of that decision, we need to take you back where we were. We been living in Asheville, North Carolina at this point for two years and being there really was a dream fulfilled for us. Yeah, we had been dreaming about living in the Blue Ridge Mountains since we were married. it was like right after the New Year's. ⁓ but not meaningful. This is your invitation to begin again. You can learn more or join us at legacyrootsco.com slash Mel Club. And right now, if you use Code Podcast, you'll get 50 % off your first month so you can try it out. Now back to the episode. ⁓ We were home together, you were working, and you hopped on a normal business call. And within 10 minutes, you come out and you look like you just seen a ghost. Yeah, I was pretty devastated in that moment. It was at that point about a decade before then we'd been dreaming about it. Yeah. Having been there and vacationed a few times, it was just kind of one of those dreams where you're like, let's want to be so cool to live where we vacation. It'd be awesome. And after I had been laid off at a company that was downsizing in Wisconsin, a door opened. that we never saw coming and that dream finally came true. And we had no idea when that happened, but lo and behold here in Asheville is one of the top Christian schools in all of the country. we were blessed to get our children in there, receive scholarships from the school and everything to make it ⁓ affordable, though it was like insanely expensive. ⁓ It ⁓ And I heard the news again the second time that I had been laid off ⁓ ⁓ it was really difficult the next open door. after that, more open doors of these friendships where we had formed these bonds that were so deep. I mean, these were ⁓ not just like, ⁓ hope to talk to you someday. these have been really intentional foundational relationships for for really the rest our life. It was truly miraculous ⁓ Yeah. You losing your job was an absolute ⁓ of us saw it coming. ⁓ And I think that you and I, because had just bought our first home, there was no way. didn't it blow your mind how quickly we had built such rich, deep friendships there in like such a short amount of time? Yeah, it really was because it's a culture. we were going to even consider leaving North Carolina. And so for the next several months, you poured yourself into looking for position in the Asheville area. That was in our mind, the only option until it became clear that that wasn't going to be an option. That's true. that doesn't really accept Christianity. a lot darkness there, in all honesty. ⁓ And so to plug into ⁓ church community that was alive thriving and doing life together so well was kind of shocking. There were lot times like, is this real? ⁓ There are some things that you just don't find in a lot of churches, Like this was a really beautiful community. And we have left a church in Wisconsin that we were so plugged into. Shout out to Destiny Church Wisconsin. ⁓ But, it was ⁓ truly of those things where we to Asheville and we were like, Lord, please give us ⁓ a church like that, ⁓ where we there was deep connection. And God so graciously blessed us with these friendships. I think about when we were in Asheville, I felt like we were on cloud nine, like living the life of our dreams. Absolutely. I was working a job that I really loved at a place I really loved. incredible flexibility. Yeah. I mean, you had at that job ⁓ unlimited PTO. That's like not thing anywhere. ⁓ ⁓ It was great. We worked hard, but we really took care of each other, worked ⁓ really well we had just our first home. We had been married for 10 or 11 years at this point, dreaming of owning a home. But we had all these kids so fast, and we were trying to get our finances together, just college debt and all the other things we were trying to take care of. within a year, we finally buy a in this beautiful valley. ⁓ It was so beautiful. Like ⁓ with the birds chirping in the hills morning and the sun rising behind the mountains and just like glowing over our acre, like our little acre of heaven is truly how I felt about that home that we bought. it was so special, then everything shifted. Yeah, because, know, it's interesting when you think about this whole story, we weren't trying to escape something hard. Like we just explained, like Asheville was a dream come true for us. Yeah. you know, losing a job ⁓ can be a big shift. Yeah. And in our family dynamic, I have been main breadwinner this time because we had the six kids. So you've always had lot to do with them. and you've always poured your heart into our business, but it was in its growing phase, its baby phase. So, like we couldn't live off of our business income. And so you losing your job for any family losing their main source of income, that can be really scary. And that was our second time going through that. had just, we had just walked through that two years prior. although it kind of felt like old news It ⁓ still felt new in the sense now have a mortgage. Now our kids are in a really nice school if we don't pay the tuition, they can't stay at that school. ⁓ Now we have more kids than the first time lost your job. We have more mouths to feed. I mean, we had every reason to be freaking out at that point. And I remember ⁓ the change in you. ⁓ when you lost that job. It was different than the first time. it's almost like you had this assurance you that you necessarily didn't have the first time. Like I felt like you had peace about ⁓ being laid off. And I guess take us back that moment when you lost your job. Now this is the second time losing it in two years. You have six kids, you have a mortgage. what was going through your mind and your heart in that moment? Well, I was really hopeful because I'd been through the experience before that God would take care of our needs. And I just thinking, okay, At that time, things had been really stressful at the company. I was one of the few people who really knew what was going on, how bad it was. I guess I felt released from that. So I tried to find comfort in the situation and the comfort was, okay, I don't have to continue to carry this burden on my shoulders anymore. I can now trust that the Lord has something ⁓ for me. ⁓ at the time I was hopeful, you know, ⁓ I could find something remote, maybe I could network. You know, in those first couple of weeks, I guess it's not so bad, especially having been through it, because you can find some glimmer of hope. You can make the connections, you can reach out people you think will care or will help you along your way. ⁓ I think what did get difficult was it wasn't really panning out. I think I started feel some pressure after a while. Well, was hard too, because I felt like you were the work. Like you are applying to so many jobs and we actually had some great opportunities that we thought were gonna pan out from like connections with other people that were like, this is a shoe in. Like you are either qualified or overqualified. it was really bizarre me how for basically three months of you applying to jobs all over the Asheville area, that none of them led to an offer of some kind. Like that really was alarming to me. it kind of made me wonder, I think in that moment, like, is God gonna ask us to leave? And I was probably more resistant to that because I'm a little more of the... I just want to sit and stay here kind of person than you have been. Yeah, I've been usually more flexible. Yeah. But I think you and I at this point, we're pretty much that like we we loved that home, our first home so much that I don't think we would have even thought it could even be part of the equation that God would ask us to sell our home. Yeah. To move somewhere new. Like, that didn't even seem wise. Oh no, we hadn't even owned the home a year. Yeah. And so. It was kind of like, all right, are we really going to look outside of this area where we're going to lose all of this? Yeah, like my sister lives very close to Asheville, her and her boys, My parents they were planning on buying a home in that area very soon. And so, yeah, it was like How could we even leave this place? Because right now I have family living there and we have these relationships. It really felt like leaving just wasn't going to be an option. Like we had to stay until it almost had to become the option. Yeah. What do you do when you thought it was God's plan? this whole time and now I guess doubt started to creep in about is this, this isn't panning out. So is this really what God wants us to be doing anymore? are we really supposed to look outside of here? Yeah. Yeah. Cause it's almost like you and I were so clear that God moved us from Wisconsin to North Carolina and we were clinging to that. were like ⁓ to put down roots in Asheville and I think that's when you and I were like, all right, Lord, what do you have for us? And this is when something so unexpected happened. Like it's almost comical. No, it is comical. No, it's a thousand percent comical. To think about how this transpired, how we landed in Colorado still is, it just is, it's ⁓ here's how it happened. So watching this TV show. Some of you might have watched it before. It's called Building Roots. It's on ⁓ HGTV it's about this ⁓ couple who ⁓ design homes in Pagosa Springs, which is the town that we now live in. And we've always loved mountain homes. So this has always just been a big draw for us. So the show Building Roots takes place in the San Juan Mountains here in Colorado and It's so funny, we've never been here. ⁓ So it was just a normal Sunday. We were just sitting there watching the show. And at end I don't even what got into us, No, I can exactly tell you, because I remember it was ⁓ late February. I had been unemployed for going on two months I was desperate. Like ⁓ there was no, there was nothing. So like you probably thought it was little bit random. for sure from where you were sitting. I was thinking, ⁓ I'm hundreds of applications in at this point with like zero, zero, zero stones turning over. So why the heck not? Cause I am so frustrated right now. you and I looked at each and we were so aligned in our thinking, we were both like, let's check out Pagosa Springs. it wasn't like, hey, you should check out Pagosa Springs. And you're like, ⁓ no, we were really aligned in that moment of like, yeah, let's just check it out. Let's just, what the heck? Let's see what's ⁓ going on in Springs, Colorado. So you, I remember pulled out your phone in that moment and you did a quick Google search, finance accounting jobs. And I think you found this roll through as like Indeed or like one of those websites where you could just easily click apply. Yeah. And I think you and I for a split second, we're like, do we really want to apply to this job? do we actually think we would move to Colorado? ⁓ I think you are seriously like, I don't even think they'll consider me like we're in North Carolina. they're gonna see that on my application and they're gonna be like, who is this person and are they actually serious? So I think that moment existed. And then I think the bigger shock was the next day, you get this email saying that they wanna interview you that day. Yeah, that was really shocking. I had to do like some last minute. a little last minute research and it was so fast I didn't have the full grasp of What did I actually apply to? ⁓ Other than the title that which came with basic responsibilities So I was like, ⁓ I should look these this place and what's going on ⁓ You know what's even crazier is ⁓ you applied to so many jobs in the local area and processes took so long Like you wouldn't even hear back for weeks at a time that they received your application that you could then interview. And then it was like another two weeks to interview. ⁓ This was instant open door. So I think that's where my ears kind of started to perk up a little bit. Cause I'm like, okay, ⁓ God speaks to in many different ways, but I know one way he speaks to us is through open doors. It was just like this job, it was like open door, open door, open door. and this is the point in our story where that internal wrestle began pretty quickly, because like earlier we shared in the episode, ⁓ we, loved living in Asheville so much we had zero plans to leave and because the doors opened so quickly with new job we almost didn't have time to process it was like ⁓ interview then it led to another interview and it was like hey we want to fly ⁓ you and your wife out to come to so we're like, okay, we'll go to Pagosa Springs and check it out. And we had already like thought it was cool because of the TV show. So we're like, this is fun. Let's go check it out. But it's crazy how the moment we landed. I think you and I almost had like jitters in our bodies because we just had this feeling like God was up to something, but we didn't want to accept it. That's a really good way to put it because we were here for two days I think it started immediately. Like something in us right away was telling us that was the direction Lord was leading. And then every step just felt a little more confirming and a little more confirming and a little more exciting. And I remember our time ended with a dinner with, the leaders of the company. we walked out that and we're just standing in the parking lot. I remember hugging each other and us looking at each other and saying, yeah, I think we're supposed to do this. I remember hugging each other and us looking at each other and saying, yeah, I think we're supposed to do this. We were like shaking, I remember on the drive home and I'm like getting emotional thinking about, like we pulled out of the dinner and the drive back to the hotel has the most incredible view. We were like shaking, I remember on the drive home and I'm like getting emotional thinking about, like we pulled out of the dinner and the drive back to the hotel has the most incredible view. the mountains It was so it was so breathtaking. It was the first time I'd seen Pagosa in that direction and I remember looking at you. Do you remember this? We looked at each other and we said I think we're moving to Pagosa the mountains like It was so it was so breathtaking. It was the first time I'd seen Pagosa in that direction and I remember looking at you. Do you remember this? We looked at each other and we said I think we're moving to Pagosa and At this point you didn't have a job offer but we just had this incredible dinner with these leaders of this company. And these leaders love the Lord. I think that's the other element in all of this is we were praying. weren't even praying for like a financial opportunity. Like we were pleading with the Lord that he would give you a culture fit, a company of people that ⁓ respected our desire for family and for boundaries around family time, for people that just had good character qualities, because you came from corporate America and like things are so fast paced and no one has respect for family boundaries. you know, these are things that just frustrated us all the time. we came away from that dinner and we were like, these people love Jesus. ⁓ These people trust Jesus. These people, I think, want us to move here. And it was like this peace beyond understanding. And at the same time, such devastation Do you remember what it was like? going home kind like those next, that like next week, ⁓ I say. It was like ⁓ gut, gut It still is. It was really hard to go home because our kids weren't with us. So we went home to see them. I remember the wait. it like hard to be excited in a way because we had much ⁓ we loved. it was we have to tell kids about we're moving. Are they going to be ready for this? And then leaving this school that we had, you know, the kind of place to like every parent dreams to get to send their kid to. having to think, we're gonna have to sell the house. then think for me, the hardest part was having to tell like all of our friends. Like we had to, we had a phone call and in our sit down meeting like each of our core friends. ⁓ And I you and I both feeling like we wanted to up before each of those conversations. Cause we were ⁓ so everybody looked at us ⁓ and said, like, we already knew. so true. We already knew you were you were called somewhere else. We just didn't know if we should tell you basically. ⁓ Well, and I think that's the beauty surrounding yourself with people who love the Lord and who ⁓ are prayer partners with you in life, ⁓ all of them were praying for God's will to be done. all of our friends knew that we were in the process of this out and everyone was praying that the Lord would give us clear ⁓ And I think that's the power of having deeply rooted ⁓ friends in your life. who don't just pray for what they want. Like they prayed for what the Lord wants. And you're right. Like we showed up to those conversations and all of them, every single conversation they said, we hate that this is happening, but we also knew that God was calling you to move to Colorado. Yeah. And all of this, the question really becomes, ⁓ do you know what God's will is? And I, I don't know about you. I'd be curious if you felt this way too, but I think having grown up in a Christian home, having gone to a Christian school, like told like, seek the Lord, seek his will, do his will. And I think at this time, I very much, I don't think this was intended, but it really came off as, well, gives you like right way to go, and there's the right way to go. So you gotta go figure out the right way to go. Yeah. And I think what some of these experiences taught me was that sometimes there isn't a right way to go. So true. But it's still important. It's not that it doesn't mean the opposite of just do what you want and God will help you figure it out. It is seeking Him because I think He does give us clear yeses at times. And then I think he gives us like that moment in the parking lot that night or driving down the mountain to get to where we were saying, were clear yes moments, ⁓ say yes. And then there are times where it feels like the Lord is kind of saying no matter what, I'll take care of you. And I'll you right now which way you wanna go. ⁓ You're not out my will in either one. And then there are definitely moments where you know if you go down a certain path, it's not his will. how do you discern that? And definitely believe one of the most important ways is having that wise counsel. Those people around you who know you, who pray for you, ⁓ who ⁓ ⁓ truth your life and not just you what you want to hear ⁓ and it was, that was really powerful for us to come home, to sit down with these people that really knew us, that all really love the Lord, and to hear them Just be so affirming and encouraging. Even when each one was truly honest, like, we don't want you to leave, like that's a selfish thing, but we also know what the right thing is. Like that is a true rooted friend that, yeah, you're absolutely right, Kayla. Like we need to seek those relationships and invest in building them. They don't just happen. Like have to be built. I'm so thankful that we invested in those relationships when we first moved to Asheville. And we continue to invest in relationships, even long distance. But it is so critical that in and out of every hard season we as believers, really invest in to deeply rooted relationships. Yeah. And it's important to say we had done that in Wisconsin. So the same thing really happened there and our friends and community there were just as supportive. ⁓ They right alongside of us through this journey, even though they couldn't physically be there. So they couldn't sit down at the table with us, but they also deeply in prayer for us that whole journey. So ⁓ we've always ⁓ worked hard to foster those relationships because believe that's what biblical community is and that we should build that no matter where we're at. ⁓ too, ⁓ when you invite people to speak into your life you're open counsel, it really fights pride, which can sneak in these decisions ⁓ And you you've made up in your mind, you know what the right answer is. You aren't willing to see any other perspective or side of the story. And it can almost shut you off from like, if God is truly speaking to you. And so I think you and I, we stayed humble through this process and we were like, We're not making this decision in and of ourselves. how can we go to the people who know us best? How can we people into this decision with us who know Jesus, ⁓ who love Jesus, are in fellowship with Jesus, ⁓ and can also confirm through prayer if this truly is the best thing for us and our family. And we were also, I think, really careful about who we brought into the process. And this is really important when you seek wise counsel is to truly ⁓ be selective in who you bring in because there are going to be some people who love Jesus also, but don't have the faith that you have and are going to almost cast their fears upon you. ⁓ ⁓ will end up confusing or discourage you in the process versus helping you to discern ⁓ God has for you. ⁓ You don't have to disclose to everybody what you're trying to pray through, what you're dreaming about, what decision you're trying to make, ⁓ but it's important that you kind clue in the right people. think you're absolutely right. The wrong voices can discourage you or dissuade you ⁓ because They can project their own fear, which is an unintended... consequence. it's one where we have to be watchful. A true friend looks to the Lord and then looks to what's best for you, regardless to what it means for them and their own fears of their personal life are. I another really important thing, that was ⁓ so critical to this journey was we didn't rush we prayed consistently. ⁓ it truly felt like our spirits were groaning. ⁓ if we weren't physically praying, ⁓ felt like our spirits were praying constantly for weeks even before that, you know, discussions that we were having about what to do, what not to do in the meantime. I think we continue to keep our rhythms through this season and our rhythms of prayer. ⁓ still spending time with the Lord. Like I didn't panic and I'm awake. I need to be applying for jobs. Like I wake up and I would still ⁓ spend the part of my day ⁓ just in my regular time of spending with the Lord. And praying over each of these situations and moments continually seeking him. ⁓ And you bring up such a good point that And this is something I think we stress on every episode in this podcast is that rhythms really matter they matter even more in the hard, messy seasons. ⁓ they were ⁓ before the hard, messy season. because we were so intentional about building. Like you said, your morning rhythm with the Lord. It was one of the critical rhythms that sustained us during a time where we did have an income, our savings was dwindling, we had mouths to feed, a mortgage to pay, tuition to pay. And yet when I look on that season, you're right. Like we had a peace beyond our understanding, but it was because we had rhythms that kept us in the word of God, kept us in prayer, that kept us unified as a couple, And so along with the sentiment of like pray and seek God's will, I think as believers we have to encourage each other to have vital rhythms in our life that keep you rooted through the storm. Cause it's not just go and pray. It is a daily choice, a daily discipline to stay in God's word. to keep your eyes on Christ, to keep enemy out of your marriage so you can eventually discern God's will. I agree. ⁓ And continued our relationships ⁓ of what us stay rooted in the Lord. We had our rhythms of what helped us stay rooted together and as a family. Our rhythms also within the community that we had, and we leaned into that and just continued to see God through it all. And I think we paid to the open doors, the doors. You know, ⁓ I look back on the and I always tell people it's the story that only God could tell. And I used to believe that, ⁓ like moving to North Carolina, used to believe that, ⁓ but I see it continually and more. ⁓ And, you know, things just And sometimes they're closed doors, sometimes they're open doors. But when the open doors came, even though sometimes we were scared, I could ⁓ feel God's encouragement of like, it's okay to open this door. And I'll close if the wrong door. I think in ⁓ spending the time him in prayer, was like, should I look for as a red flag became clear so that some of those doors could close that way. But think it was paying attention to where is he leading through open doors in this particular season. So true. Yeah, I think you bring up a really good point that for a while it was so many closed doors that it was pretty obvious, okay, God's not giving you this job. But then it's like, when there was the open door, that was reason for us to believe that God was doing something. And it wasn't necessarily the thing that we were like, ⁓ open door, we're going to walk through it. I think how many times does that happen in our lives? like, you know, an opportunity comes your way and you're like, ⁓ it's from the Lord. It's an opportunity. It's an open door. I think open doors are an indicator that God could be moving. It's not an Walk through it. ⁓ And I think that's what we're trying to also explain today is that there were many ⁓ ways we discern the will of God because This was a gut-wrenching decision. Like you don't make a decision to move your family 2,000 miles away without processing. You know, I think that there's something to be said about having big faith. Absolutely, God asked us to trust Him, to have faith. But this one of those real-life moments where you're like, okay, Lord, I do have big faith. I do trust you. ⁓ Yes, send me, you know, all the things. And at the same time, it's like, are we really gonna move our family across the country? So there were a few other ways that we discerned that. I us asking each other the question, which decision would bring us the most If we said no to this opportunity, would we have peace about that? Yeah, and not that it would be easy. wasn't what's the easiest decision. It was just what gives us the most peace in our heart. Knowing that our hearts were before the Lord. Yeah. All of it. ⁓ we definitely had fear. But underneath this decision to move to Colorado, there was some kind of peace that like deep down to the core of our bones almost like we knew it was right even though we were really afraid to do it. But we didn't know like the peace was there that it was the right decision. You that word knowing you just said the word knowing that actually reminds me of the verse be still and know that I am God. And I think another way we discern is that we were intentional. about being still with God, being in silence. And I think there is so much truth in that, that when you are still before the Lord, and prayer, a lot of prayer is not actually talking. It's actually just sitting there with God and letting him work it out in your spirit. it's in those moments that you really do ⁓ to know God and his voice. I think we underestimate in today's loud and crazy busy world where everyone has an earbud in and we're listening to podcasts or music nonstop, I think we underestimate how much power there is in the silence. Just sitting in silence, no phone for your distraction, nothing to listen to, literally nothing to do except just being with God even for five, 10, 15 minutes. That the scripture that says, be still, know I am God. we really do gain clarity about these hard decisions in our life by just being still. And you and I really intentionally did that ⁓ And it, taught us then to check motive. ⁓ think that was kind of the last to share here about this area of our journey is we had to ask ourselves, we saying no because it's wrong or are we just afraid? ⁓ question really did change everything. And we were processing all this, we started to notice something and realize like, this isn't the first time God had been taking us down a road of a hard decision before. he really ⁓ had led us through these other moments. that built upon each other and really made this giant decision simpler for us. So years ago, Kaylee, you felt called to give up your career as a dietitian, which you had worked really hard to achieve and to pursue something that didn't really make sense maybe on the outside at the time. Yeah, literally gave up my registration to pursue my direct sales business that I was building with Mary Kay. And ended up building a very large and successful ⁓ business. thanks to the Lord, but we were earning free cars. We were making incredible money from this business. And the Lord had asked me to give up my job as a dietitian to build that business. And then it was like five years later, the Lord asked me give that up to then build Legacy Roots Co. And that, that wasn't just like a quick decision Like, you went through a really long season of many, many, many months of discerning ⁓ that. Well, and let's be honest, didn't give it up when business was bad. No, he literally gave it up when I was at the top of my career. Yeah, your trajectory was upward. ⁓ And I mean, they had a the had to literally come and take my vehicle. The Lord had multiple times in our life already asked us to give up, to surrender something important to us for something else. Yeah. we've already mentioned in this story, but our journey of being in Wisconsin our family and our were but we were ultimately led to accept this opportunity to move to Asheville. And that wasn't just a super easy yes at the time. I I remember crying, leaving our close friends who came to pray with us as we drove away. And I remember I had really, really bad anxiety. You did. it was not this easy decision to make at all. ⁓ think that's definitely a lesson we've learned through all of this is that just because you have peace doesn't mean it's easy. what we realized was God had been preparing us every step of obedience in the past. These other yeses we had made really equipped us to say, ⁓ yes, we trust you Lord in this one. And so when Colorado came, this wasn't our first yes, but it just had become our next hardest one. Yeah, ⁓ became our hardest one. ⁓ I think about if we hadn't said yes to those other, parts our story, maybe the Lord wouldn't let us here. We wouldn't have been ready to say yes. It was almost like he gave us these next baby steps of surrender. Will you trust me? Will you follow me? we were like, yes, we will. Yes, we will. Yes, we will. So then when this big one came, we had this trajectory of saying yes to God and his faithfulness that was there ⁓ along. And rooted in the Lord meant we just really couldn't live with saying no. We couldn't. live with this weight of if we didn't trust the Lord? ⁓ fact, trusting Him really turns into almost an easy yes. ⁓ Doesn't mean not hard ⁓ in the of like being afraid or seeing all the challenges, but it's still, you know, it's the right decision. And when you have that peace that it's the right decision, you can really move through some things. ⁓ So God didn't just call us though, we know that he went with us and we saw so much evidence of that. As soon as we said yes, as soon as we trusted him and as soon as we actually started taking action in the direction that he called us to. I mean, do you remember like just the craziness of our home selling? It was wild. So we didn't even share, you got the offer with this company in Colorado. we then made the decision, yes, we're gonna accept the offer. And we went out a couple weeks later to look for housing and for you to do orientation and things like that. And while we were in Pagosa like looking at our potential new home, we sold our home in Asheville. within 24 hours of it going on the market, and it was sold for 10 grand more than we listed it for, which was actually, it ended up being like 70 grand more than we paid for the home the year before, which in the housing world is nuts. Like you don't buy a house and in one year. sell your house for 70 grand more than what you paid for it. Yeah, it was completely unprecedented. But that was wild, like the fear of like, OK, we can't move from Asheville because we can't sell our house one year after we bought it. ⁓ And God's like, I'll show you. Yeah. And we came here. just to try to find a new place, met someone who moved here from Asheville. I had met her at a just a boutique I was shopping in downtown and she's like, ⁓ yeah, I just moved here from Asheville a couple of years ago. And we're like, well, that's a coincidence, but not really. Hello, Lord. And connected ⁓ us her friend whose dad had a rental home that was the perfect fit for our family. I mean, there's so many elements to this home we could have never dreamed of having. We walked on the property. Do you remember our thoughts when we first walked on the property to see it? I think you and I almost peed our pants. ⁓ That ⁓ is probably true. Yeah. We were like, ⁓ holy crap. ⁓ The view from this house is a million dollar view Yeah, this house wasn't even on the market and everyone had been telling us it's so hard to find a home. I mean, just kind of like those thoughts that are like, oh crap, we made the wrong decision. Like, no one's going to like rent to us as a big family. No one's going to have a place we can afford. Like. What are we doing? Well, and this town is a high tourist town, so short term rentals are abundant, but at the time, long term rentals were very rare. So we didn't even know how quickly we were going to be able to actually move the family. And if the transition of selling the home and then getting a home here would actually work well either. And there wasn't a ⁓ like a traditional five day week Christian school. And so we had to figure out all of that, but the Lord brought all those pieces together. we ended up finding a church we really love our kids I mean, I've been absolutely shocked how every one of them says like, but goes to home, you know, I didn't want to ever leave like Like they never say that about any other place we lived, And they're like, This place is awesome. We love it. Yeah. And it's the most different place we've ever lived. just seeing how they thrive and how this new community has embraced us. And it's just been so amazing. Well, I just think about the miracle of Darla. ⁓ that's definitely at this point, I think the biggest, most unexpected blessing was the Lord putting us in this place before Darla was ever a thought in our mind. And then just had miraculous moment after miraculous moment of like, you're in Colorado. She's going to get the best care of anywhere in the entire country for this particular issue she has. And then we would learn about the next issue she has. I'm like, ⁓ really? Well, the top surgeon, one of the top in the entire world. I mean, she's had her surgery broadcasted across the entire world from this doctor sharing particular surgery with other doctors in third world countries because she's at the top and teaching other people. And Darla is a part of her ⁓ journey to blessing others. And if you're new to the podcast, Darla is our seventh baby. She was born about a year ago with many medical complications. She actually spent about half of her first year living in the hospital and ⁓ she had many surgeries. so we didn't know it at the time, but we found out we were pregnant with Darla ⁓ right after we moved Pagosa. And we didn't know she would have all of these complications, but like you were saying, Christian, it has blown our minds how the Lord set Darla up for so much success, moving us here at the perfect time for Darla to be born ⁓ Colorado to receive the most incredible care at the Children's Hospital here in Denver. where at today and how she is thriving. ⁓ and the care that we continue to receive for her. I have no doubt in my mind that that is one of the biggest reasons God moved us here is to take care of her. And I think all of taught us that a few lessons, but definitely one of the biggest ones is God doesn't just call you, he goes with you. And he's been with us every ⁓ step of this journey, every fear. ⁓ we had he answered every way we didn't see he saw. And then we turn around and look and we're like, oh, this was the Lord's plan all along. And he went with us in a way, like I said before, he's just writing a story that only he could write. And that's a promise for you as the listener that the Lord will never leave you. He is always with you. And if he calls you to something big, you can guarantee if he calls you to it, he is not going to ditch you or leave you in that moment. He's going to provide for you every step of the way. That is not in God's character to call you into ⁓ crazy big then just to like leave you high and dry. ⁓ absolutely. I think another lesson we learned is Clarity often comes after that step of saying yes, it doesn't always come before. Yeah, I remember when we were sitting on the couch in our Asheville living room right before we made the decision. ⁓ were a mess. because it was like the full realization of like, God moving us and I don't want to move. I remember you were very much like, I don't want this. I don't want to leave. And ⁓ I remember the moment you said yes in your heart, there was like this undeniable that came over you where you were like, the Lord's for our family is so clear right now. ⁓ But I didn't see that entirely until you said yes. ⁓ No, I think that's true. And I had a lot of fear. And I think that lesson learned through this is peace and fear can kind of coexist. Yeah. That I had this piece that was the right decision, but I was really afraid to make that decision. And I think part of it is I grew up in the same house, in same block my entire life. I went to the same schools. my parents worked the same jobs their entire working career. essentially my dad made one change and He made that change and that was it until he was done. They still live in the same town. to me, part of was also this fear of like constantly, like, what if I. ⁓ and moving my kids around too much. What if I'm like moving jobs too much? Like there was just a lot of fear. I want to start grieving everything and just it. I had the peace ⁓ to to make the decision and move forward. Well, and I think the moving pieces that we were unclear about, like where will we live? ⁓ How much is it going to cost us? What's our budget going look like when we live there? Like ⁓ all these logistical things I think we were getting so worked up about, but I think God was like, I'm not gonna give you all the answers until you say yes. So are you gonna say yes or are you not? Yeah, and obedience in this case often, it meant letting go of something good. Like we weren't letting go of bad things. We just were having to say yes to something greater. Yeah. Trust that it was gonna be. Yeah, not necessarily even money. Like we're not talking like in financial provision. We're just talking about how God takes care of his people. And that can look like blessings in so many different ways. Like Darla's care, for example, wasn't necessarily a financial provision, but it was a care provision. ⁓ And so I think that's important to realize that like when God leads you to somewhere new or to a different decision, a different job, a different location, whatever that looks like, you you have to trust and believe that he is for you, that he is not against you, and that he really does have your best interests and your children's best interests in mind. I think you said that so well. He really has our best interests in mind. the biggest problem think we have as people that scripture tells us is Genesis 1 through 3, we're really bad at choosing what's good and bad. God gives us a good world, we choose what's bad. You know, he gives us gifts and we decide what we think is the right way to And I think in all of this, we realized, you know, none of this on the outside may make sense what other people may say is good, but we had to do what we trusted the Lord was saying was good. Yeah. Yeah. Cause the real question is what is God asking you to do right now? What choice is he asking you to make? Because in your own human nature, It isn't really proven that humans make the best choices, but God has a good choice available to all of us. He has something for each of us. And so what is the thing that you keep pushing off? the conversation that you don't want to have, or is it maybe a step that you're afraid to take? And if you're honest, are you saying no? ⁓ because it's not right because it's uncomfortable. Yeah, and I think you make a really good point there because God's not always calling us to make a big decision right now or take some giant leap of faith. I think he will do that for most people at some point, in some way. And that doesn't necessarily mean it could be job. It could be letting go of a relationship that, a friendship, something you've had, but... That might be really hard, but you might know he's saying, hey, I need you to let this relationship go because not good for you. Yeah, you'll flourish. Yeah. it. Yeah. It could mean that you're in a position that he's saying, hey, I want you to make a big leap. But we have to make good ⁓ yeses to the Lord the daily. Yeah. The little things in the rhythms of life. ⁓ so that when these big moments come, you're ready. Yeah. ⁓ It's almost like you have to put in time with God to hear his still small voice on the regular so that you, when you are about these bigger things, these bigger decisions you have to make, you can hear his voice then. Yeah. And so we want to give you a few. things that you can do. As you know, in this podcast, we're all about taking action. We love to give you steps to take from this episode. ⁓ although we sharing our story, it's not about us. It's really about what God is doing in and through us. And we know that God is writing your story too, that he ⁓ is asking to do the big and small too. ⁓ And so are some action steps that you can do this week to ⁓ start to ⁓ What is God asking of you? And so the first thing is just getting quiet before God. And we want you to have a time with the Lord each day that's not rushed, not distracted, without your phone, without even anything playing, just you and the Lord. And just sit with Him. Sit with Him for five minutes if that's a good start for you. Sit with Him for 15 or even 30. or an hour and just see what he speaks to your heart. Yeah. And just to encourage you when you do that, it's really hard. Especially if you don't have a habit of it. And all these other things kind of like ooze out. Uh-huh. All the things you didn't get done at work or something you're worried about with your kid or some scary thing in your or some show you've been watching lately or whatever. All this stuff comes out. But I want to encourage you. Let those things happen because sometimes they have to get out first So that we can hear and the quiet comes so good. So that's why we say Don't just do it once Do it do it every day and even if it's for a few minutes because even if it's not the first day Your your internal voice gets quieter So that the Lord's voice can become louder so that's the first thing we want you to do is get quiet before God The second thing we want you to do is we want you to write it down. And I know some of you are thinking right now, but Kayla, I'm not a journaler. you don't have to be a journaler to take advantage of this. Like it is proven that when you put pen to paper, ⁓ there is just that happens with how you process your thoughts and your emotions ⁓ that's much different even typing it on the computer, talking about it with somebody else. There is science actually to prove how effective this is. I would describe it as kind of going back to the last thing where all these other things or distractions come up in your mind. When you put the pen to paper, it hones in your focus. it keeps it there. And something very powerful to that. I have never thought of it that way. I haven't either that was just a wise epiphany. Wow, you're so wise. I'm so blessed. really, I'm so blessed with your wisdom. I think that's such good thought, though. We can be distracted people that when you like I know when I'm journaling it is so true the moment I start to journal and write my thoughts down. I'm only focused on that. It's like really hard to be focused on anything else. ⁓ the cool thing about it is it gives you a place for output. have so many inputs that we have to get our thoughts out. have to get ⁓ the emotions ⁓ out of us and ⁓ the busyness our head to any of clarity on a decision. And so writing it down is just really effective. Yeah. so the next one, ⁓ number three, is we want you to bring it ⁓ into the light. And we've talked about this earlier in the episode about just talking to someone wise. not just someone who is going to agree with you. This is super important. Don't just talk to the people that are going to like scratch your back, you know, like make you all puffed up and make you feel better about whatever choice you're making. You want people who are mindful, who are rooted in Jesus, who ⁓ looking out for your best interests, but they are more concerned about God's plan for you. They are just there to either puff you up or to fear in you. That's so good. I think you're absolutely right. And then the last thing is we want you to just take a baby step this week. ⁓ after you spend time with the Lord, ⁓ you write it down, ⁓ you talk about it with a trusted wise person, ⁓ we want you take ⁓ one small baby And maybe it's not this week. Maybe it's this month. But there is something that God is asking you to do. If you are walking with Jesus and you're talking with him, there is going to be something he is going to ask you to do. And we want you to take that baby step. You don't need the full picture. You just need to take the next right step. Yeah, absolutely. Because on the other side of your obedience might be a life you didn't know you would even dream of. We thought Asheville was a dream, but God really did have something different, and it started with a yes. this episode encouraged you today. ⁓ We ask that you just share it with someone who's in a decision right now. And we so grateful you joined us today. Thank you for taking the time to listen to our story. We hope that you saw yourself in our story, and we can't to have you next time. Yes, we'll see you next time on the Rooted Family Podcast. Thanks for joining.