Disruptive Grace

Mind your prayers, people. They can be dangerous. 

God opened the door for Josh to finish his PHD just over a year ago, and He basically had to shove us through it.  After another round of painful goodbyes, and another exhausting move, we set our minds to make the best of our short stay in Kentucky.

Leaving old friends makes one hesitant to make new ones. I saw this in my children; I saw it in myself. 

“Lord, keep our hearts open in this place,” we prayed: a dangerous prayer. 

Thus we began a year of needs recognized, and then, provision.

Homeschooling was an enormous adjustment, flattening me with the needs of the children and my own need for support, patience, more time, everything!  “God, my kids need friends, and I need people who understand!”  

Last summer I attended a practicum, hoping to be better equipped to teach a few things at home, and God made it plain to me: “These are your people.” We jumped into Classical Conversations with both feet, and we were recived with open hearts. Our hearts opened in return, and we thank God that indeed, this homeschool community is “our people.”

At the same time, we attended the closest Lutheran church, slipping in and out of the pews quietly, just like normal people.  But open-hearted people sought us out, and drew us in. God’s people once again became our people.

We had no idea when we moved here, how God would meet our needs and fill our hearts. 

That “short stay” in Kentucky? It is yet another page in my life-planner that God has crumpled up and thrown in the trash. And I’m cheering him on. Josh was installed as pastor at Our Savior last weekend. We have purchased a house. Our hearts are open and our roots are sinking down in this place.

We are marvelling at the work of God,

and giving thanks

for his disruptive grace,

for the gifts He gives,

for the way He opens our hearts to want what He wills,

always more than we asked or imagined.

*The flowers in the picture are from installation day at the church, from the gardens of parishioners. 

It’s just like God to gather His people and make something beautiful.