Be Careful What You Ask For

2017 was a lousy year for blogging. The last blog in this space was almost a year ago. On January 16, 2016, I posted about how restless I felt. How the sense of being pushed into something new had overtaken me to the point of distraction.

Apparently, God was preparing me for the next stage in life.

My "word of the year" for 2016 was "servant." I prayed frequently for a direction, telling Him, "I'll go where You send me. Just show me."

Well...you know what they say about "being care what you ask..."

Within the next three months, I applied for a job in Birmingham, Alabama, interviewed and got the job, and by March 17th--almost exactly two months from the previous blog post--had relocated to a different state.

I had been in Nashville for more than 50 years.

Seriously. Yes, I really am that old.

Starting March 20th, I became the managing editor for New Hope Publishers, which was owned by the Woman's Missionary Union. The upheaval didn't stop there. On September 1st, the ownership of New Hope transferred to Iron Stream Media. I was promoted to associate publisher.

When I chose "servant" as my word of the year for 2016, I truly thought I'd be working more with my church, perhaps doing more volunteer work with its ministries, and giving time to the programs. I had agreed to be on a committee.

I had no idea God was about to take me seriously with my vow to "go where You send me." I thought I'd be packing food boxes.

He sent me to Alabama.

I have good friends, best friends, in Nashville, who I don't see much anymore. I'd been in the same church for more than 24 years, an integral part of their choir. I had raised my daughter there, and she'd been gone less than a year. My grief was (and is) unexpectedly still quite raw. My doctors were there--I'd just started to get my diabetes under control. I miss all that more than I can put in words.  It's been a disruption, a ripping, a struggle.

It's been a blessing.

The upheaval will continue. I plan to move again in March. I'm becoming reacquainted with cousins I have not seen in 40 years. I'm sometimes stunned how comfortable the family connections are, even after all that time. I'm still learning the city. I'm searching for my "tribe" here--writers, artists, a church--which I have not had time to pursue. And Iron Stream is about to launch a custom publishing line, which I will head up. Change is still in the air.

So my word for 2017 is "listen."

Because, more than ever, I know God has plans for me, just as He does for all of us. If we listen.