Up until last spring, we were thinking we'd live in this house til we died here and they buried us out back. After years of working toward it (and a seemingly endless number of obstacles), we were literally on the verge of starting an addition and settling in for the long haul, when God used a friend to make a challenge of sorts. "Do you ever wonder," she said, "if maybe God doesn't intend for you to stay in that house? That maybe He has something entirely different in store for your family? I feel like you're supposed to at least open that door and let Him show you His heart about that." Well, this is a friend who has been known to always "speak truth into my life" as the saying goes, and it terrified me to hear those words. I LOVED our home! I wasn't going anywhere!! Remember? They were gonna bury me out back! For hours, I planted my feet in the firm soil of denial, and refused to even entertain the idea. But God never lets us off that easily, does He? By the time we went to sleep that night, my husband and I had had a long talk - during which he shared that he was feeling led to the same conclusions that my friend had brought up - and both knew beyond the shadow of a doubt that we were meant to sell our house and do something else.
At the time, we were very unsure about what direction we should take. We had a few false starts - feeling sure about something for a time, then finding God not opening that door. It was getting frustrating, but we still felt we were supposed to be making a change. At the height of the questions and doubt, I came across a book by the name of Hope Rising. The photo on the front - of a young girl on the back of a horse - drew me in. The fact that it was written by a Christian made it all the more appealing.
By the time I'd read maybe a chapter or two, I felt a stirring in my spirit like I hadn't felt in a long time. Dreams I'd long since buried suddenly resurfaced so strongly it ached to think about them. Dreams of horses, of land, of rescuing hurting animals and hurting kids lifelong dreams that had never happened - being a vet so I could save every animal that was sick or hurt... making a safe warm home for every cold and frightened animal ... touching the lives of hurting kids in a way that gave them the hope we'd found in Jesus.
When I e-mailed the author, not really expecting a reply, told her that I loved the book and was feeling God speak to my heart through it and I couldn't help but wonder if God was planting a seed in my heart, she replied and said she was certain He was doing just that! An offer of help was extended that day by Kim Meeder, the precious woman who wrote that book and runs Crystal Peaks Youth Ranch in Bend, Oregon. With that, the dream of the ranch was begun. Weeks and weeks of frustrating searches for property followed, and nothing seemed to fit what we had envisioned in our hearts. It wasn't until we hit a standstill and our realtor went out of town for a week that God finally had a chance to get our attention about the land HE seems to have chosen for the ranch. Come to find out, a friend's brother-in-law had been trying to sell 120 acres (WAY more than we would have even dreamed of looking at) for a price that would be a fraction of the things we'd been seeing up til that point. He had had it on the market for a couple of years, and nothing had panned out, despite several interested buyers at different times. He had just taken it off the market, and was content to just "sit on it" for a while.
When we walked the property for the first time, it was like our whole family knew this was that land that we'd been waiting to see all of the other times we'd gone to look at a house or land. We could envision the ranch, the kids who would come there, the horses, the barn, the pastures...
It's been two months since we found the land, and we were just beginning to take the first real steps toward making the vision a reality when the fire hit. But God is bigger than that fire, and waaaay bigger than the Enemy who started it. He's so obviously already growing the ranch in ways that never would have happened had we not had the fire, with all its hurt and loss. We honestly stand in awe of what He's already done in the last 5 days - knowing full well that He hasn't even begun to show the extent of His power and promise.