THE "S" WORD
Roots! I scrubbed a little harder on the red tile floor. He promised we could finally put down roots. That's why we chose this place so carefully. Now he wants to move again.
I paused to admire my newly redecorated kitchen. It was perfect. Dear God, how can I convince my husband that we are exactly where you want us to be?
For a country girl who spent her entire childhood living in one house, seven moves in seventeen years seemed excessive. We settled in Grass Valley after nearly eight years of caring for my aging parents. We needed a rest. The rambling house on fourteen peaceful acres seemed the ideal place to find it.
Bob stood firm once his mind was made up. "This place has become a money pit. The more we remodel, the more there is to do. We're running out of money," he would say. We had depleted our savings during three years of residence, that was true. "And it costs twice as much to run this log house as it did our last house." Monthly expenses on the nearly 4000 square foot structure were enormous.
"But, God always supplies what we need to get by," I said.
"Only if we use the credit cards. That doesn't sound like God's idea of supplying," said Bob. True again. Money always ran out before the end of the month. And the credit card balance was climbing. "And what about your allergies?"
He definitely had me on that one. I'd been fighting an eight-month battle against hives. The doctor said I was allergic to dust. The log walls were loaded with it and with the soaring ceilings, I couldn't keep it under control.
Despite all the problems, I loved living there. Promising friendships were blossoming and exciting things were happening at the vibrant prayer ministry in our church. But, the main reason I didn't want to move was because of my Bible study class. God blessed me with a special job that year. I was supervisor of the children's program. I didn't want to leave my position.
Soon in Bible study, I heard God speaking about this matter. Paul has much to say about submission to husbands. "Wives submit to your husbands, as is fitting in the Lord." Colossians 3:18 "For the husband is the head of the wife as Christ is the head of the Church, His body, of which He is the Savior." Ephesians 5:23. Gritting my teeth, I agreed to put the house on the market.
I was secretly pleased when no offers came after a month of people traipsing in and out of the house. Our realtor, a lovely Christian lady, steadily prayed with us that God would bring the right buyer.
One day, we invited friends over to join us in prayer. "I don't understand why God gave me this special work if He meant me to leave so soon," I said.
My friend looked thoughtful. "When my husband heard God's call to move here, I wanted to stay where we were. I tried everything to talk him out of it. But, he was positive that God wanted us to go. And he was right. We never would have started the prayer ministry in our old church. I would have missed out on what God wanted to do if I'd refused to move."
Okay. File that for future reference.
The second month came and went with no action.
The third month, we got an offer. It was too low, so we countered. They didn't accept it.
Yeah! You don't want us to move, do you God? Daily I prayed for God to make His will clear to Bob, completely certain that I'd already heard Him correctly.
"I want to live closer to my mother," Bob said one day. "She's getting older and needier."
"But we moved closer when we came to northern California. It's only three hours to her house from here."
"Three hours is too long if she has an emergency."
"I don't want to live in the city again."
"So, we'll look for houses in the outlying area. There are lots of small towns outside the city," Bob said.
Grudgingly, I went along to look at houses closer to Bob's mother. On our first trip, we found another Christian realtor and a wonderful house we both loved. The next day, we took Bob's brother and his wife along for a second look. We saw even more positive things about the property, but as we sat talking later, Bob's brother pointed out all the negatives. "It's too hot, too rural, no hospital nearby, churches are far away. . ."
Thank you God for another affirmation that you want us to stay put.
That spring, at a retreat with the ladies from my Bible study, we shared our greatest current challenge. I told them about my struggle with the "s" word--submission. "I hear God speaking through His word. I know He commands me to submit to my husband, but what do you do when your husband wants to do something you know is wrong? Not illegal or immoral, but wrong for the two of you. How can I give up control of this big decision regarding our future? Pray for me to joyfully submit--without holding back--to my husband's God-given right to make decision for our family."
As we prepared to leave, the man seated next to me leaned over and said, "You know, when you were talking, I thought of a woman whose husband is in the military. He gets assigned to a new base every two or three years and they have to move. Everywhere she goes, God has new work for her to do. She has accomplished amazing things in the kingdom of God because she's available to Him wherever she goes."
Available to God. That wasn't what I wanted to hear. File that, too.
Late in April, we got another offer. The close of escrow would coincide with the conclusion of my Bible study class for that year. Tearfully, I explained the possibility to my co-workers. "I really don't know if I'll be back in the fall. I've prayed and prayed about this. Surely God wouldn't ask me to leave this job I love so much."
My friends gathered around me to pray. Toward the end, one of them prayed, "I ask you, God, to empty Cathy of her own desires and plans and fill her with you."
It didn't happen in an instant, but in the next week my thoughts and feelings began to change.
On our anniversary in May, Bob and I passed two ponds near our house. The year before, a family of turtles lived in the smaller one. During an unusually hot summer, the pond the turtles lived in dried up. It remained empty until the rains of winter filled it again. The other pond, which was deeper, had water all summer and fall.
"Where did the turtles go?" I asked as we searched for them.
"Maybe they died in the heat," Bob said.
"Why didn't they just go to the other pond?"
He didn't miss a beat. "Maybe they didn't know there was another pond."
His words hit me like a load of cement. "Of course, they didn't. They're turtles! Oh, my goodness, Bob. I've been a turtle!"
He looked at me like I'd finally flipped into fantasy land for good.
"Don't you see?" I asked. "There's another pond--a big beautiful wet pond, just over there. But I've been so focused on holding onto my old pond, I never considered there could be another one equally as wonderful as my own. Maybe even more wonderful. I never even considered it!" I hugged him hard. Waves of joy swept over me. All grumbling and complaining fled from my heart. In its place, God put a desire to submit joyfully to my husband's leading.
The end -well, really, that was only the beginning.
Catherine Leggitt and husband Bob are retired. Two years ago, God provided a buyer for their log house and a new smaller one closer to Bob's mother. Catherine writes and Bob rides his horse. Her hives disappeared. There was indeed another wonderful new pond for her. In the richness of His grace, God provided work for her to do in a new Bible study class.
I paused to admire my newly redecorated kitchen. It was perfect. Dear God, how can I convince my husband that we are exactly where you want us to be?
For a country girl who spent her entire childhood living in one house, seven moves in seventeen years seemed excessive. We settled in Grass Valley after nearly eight years of caring for my aging parents. We needed a rest. The rambling house on fourteen peaceful acres seemed the ideal place to find it.
Bob stood firm once his mind was made up. "This place has become a money pit. The more we remodel, the more there is to do. We're running out of money," he would say. We had depleted our savings during three years of residence, that was true. "And it costs twice as much to run this log house as it did our last house." Monthly expenses on the nearly 4000 square foot structure were enormous.
"But, God always supplies what we need to get by," I said.
"Only if we use the credit cards. That doesn't sound like God's idea of supplying," said Bob. True again. Money always ran out before the end of the month. And the credit card balance was climbing. "And what about your allergies?"
He definitely had me on that one. I'd been fighting an eight-month battle against hives. The doctor said I was allergic to dust. The log walls were loaded with it and with the soaring ceilings, I couldn't keep it under control.
Despite all the problems, I loved living there. Promising friendships were blossoming and exciting things were happening at the vibrant prayer ministry in our church. But, the main reason I didn't want to move was because of my Bible study class. God blessed me with a special job that year. I was supervisor of the children's program. I didn't want to leave my position.
Soon in Bible study, I heard God speaking about this matter. Paul has much to say about submission to husbands. "Wives submit to your husbands, as is fitting in the Lord." Colossians 3:18 "For the husband is the head of the wife as Christ is the head of the Church, His body, of which He is the Savior." Ephesians 5:23. Gritting my teeth, I agreed to put the house on the market.
I was secretly pleased when no offers came after a month of people traipsing in and out of the house. Our realtor, a lovely Christian lady, steadily prayed with us that God would bring the right buyer.
One day, we invited friends over to join us in prayer. "I don't understand why God gave me this special work if He meant me to leave so soon," I said.
My friend looked thoughtful. "When my husband heard God's call to move here, I wanted to stay where we were. I tried everything to talk him out of it. But, he was positive that God wanted us to go. And he was right. We never would have started the prayer ministry in our old church. I would have missed out on what God wanted to do if I'd refused to move."
Okay. File that for future reference.
The second month came and went with no action.
The third month, we got an offer. It was too low, so we countered. They didn't accept it.
Yeah! You don't want us to move, do you God? Daily I prayed for God to make His will clear to Bob, completely certain that I'd already heard Him correctly.
"I want to live closer to my mother," Bob said one day. "She's getting older and needier."
"But we moved closer when we came to northern California. It's only three hours to her house from here."
"Three hours is too long if she has an emergency."
"I don't want to live in the city again."
"So, we'll look for houses in the outlying area. There are lots of small towns outside the city," Bob said.
Grudgingly, I went along to look at houses closer to Bob's mother. On our first trip, we found another Christian realtor and a wonderful house we both loved. The next day, we took Bob's brother and his wife along for a second look. We saw even more positive things about the property, but as we sat talking later, Bob's brother pointed out all the negatives. "It's too hot, too rural, no hospital nearby, churches are far away. . ."
Thank you God for another affirmation that you want us to stay put.
That spring, at a retreat with the ladies from my Bible study, we shared our greatest current challenge. I told them about my struggle with the "s" word--submission. "I hear God speaking through His word. I know He commands me to submit to my husband, but what do you do when your husband wants to do something you know is wrong? Not illegal or immoral, but wrong for the two of you. How can I give up control of this big decision regarding our future? Pray for me to joyfully submit--without holding back--to my husband's God-given right to make decision for our family."
As we prepared to leave, the man seated next to me leaned over and said, "You know, when you were talking, I thought of a woman whose husband is in the military. He gets assigned to a new base every two or three years and they have to move. Everywhere she goes, God has new work for her to do. She has accomplished amazing things in the kingdom of God because she's available to Him wherever she goes."
Available to God. That wasn't what I wanted to hear. File that, too.
Late in April, we got another offer. The close of escrow would coincide with the conclusion of my Bible study class for that year. Tearfully, I explained the possibility to my co-workers. "I really don't know if I'll be back in the fall. I've prayed and prayed about this. Surely God wouldn't ask me to leave this job I love so much."
My friends gathered around me to pray. Toward the end, one of them prayed, "I ask you, God, to empty Cathy of her own desires and plans and fill her with you."
It didn't happen in an instant, but in the next week my thoughts and feelings began to change.
On our anniversary in May, Bob and I passed two ponds near our house. The year before, a family of turtles lived in the smaller one. During an unusually hot summer, the pond the turtles lived in dried up. It remained empty until the rains of winter filled it again. The other pond, which was deeper, had water all summer and fall.
"Where did the turtles go?" I asked as we searched for them.
"Maybe they died in the heat," Bob said.
"Why didn't they just go to the other pond?"
He didn't miss a beat. "Maybe they didn't know there was another pond."
His words hit me like a load of cement. "Of course, they didn't. They're turtles! Oh, my goodness, Bob. I've been a turtle!"
He looked at me like I'd finally flipped into fantasy land for good.
"Don't you see?" I asked. "There's another pond--a big beautiful wet pond, just over there. But I've been so focused on holding onto my old pond, I never considered there could be another one equally as wonderful as my own. Maybe even more wonderful. I never even considered it!" I hugged him hard. Waves of joy swept over me. All grumbling and complaining fled from my heart. In its place, God put a desire to submit joyfully to my husband's leading.
The end -well, really, that was only the beginning.
Catherine Leggitt and husband Bob are retired. Two years ago, God provided a buyer for their log house and a new smaller one closer to Bob's mother. Catherine writes and Bob rides his horse. Her hives disappeared. There was indeed another wonderful new pond for her. In the richness of His grace, God provided work for her to do in a new Bible study class.
Catherine, what a great website! I'm so glad Suzanne told me about it. Keep doing what you are doing, sharing God's goodness through your writing. I am so proud to know you.
--Renae
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