Change

The Dietz family is in the process of change.

Through the years,  I’ve asked God to keep my heart open to change because my roots go deep and it’s easy to become staid and comfortable.  This prayer came after watching older people who were unwilling to embrace change and, as a result, they became hard, opinionated, unmovable, stubborn,  and cantankerous.  I didn’t want to be like that.

Andy & I began to know about 2 years ago that change was in the air.  God was preparing us for a move.  We didn’t know where or what it would involve…but we just knew.  I began training Selena at Living Water to take over my job as director.  I began asking God last June if “now” was the time for me to resign.  I finally felt the freedom to let my board know last September that I would be stepping down at the end of the year.  Andy & I both thought God would open doors for him by that time for a new adventure.

Around the first of the year, David & Lindsey asked us if we would consider selling our house to them.  They’d been looking for months and hadn’t found anything.  Since Andy & I were feeling change was in the air, we began praying about it…but they were still looking at other houses, too.

We never intended to step away from our church with nowhere to go.  But circumstances brought us to that point.  Andy knew it was time to resign–after 25 years of being on staff here.  The amazing thing is that when he told me what he planned to do, there was absolutely no fear in my heart.  I knew it was time, too.  We’ve both walked into an uncertain future with confidence–confident that God was in complete control!

We approached David & Lindsey again about buying our house and we will be closing on it with them April 1.  On the first weekend of March, they had a crew of people from their church come and help us move all of our things into storage.  It was amazing!  We moved into 2 bedrooms in the basement–making one a bedroom and one a living space–and  they began remodeling the rest of the house.  (She’s blogged about some of it here.)

This Sunday, Easter Sunday, will be Andy’s last Sunday in our church.  He will leave on April 4 for his last trip to Asia with our church.  It will be a medical trip not only to take care of some people, but to thank them, encourage them, and bring home our doctors’ medical equipment.  I was given the opportunity to go but since we’d put our things in storage, I couldn’t find my passport and didn’t have time to get a new one.  I’ll hate missing it.

So…when Andy gets home from that trip April 14, we will officially be jobless and homeless.  ;)  We can’t imagine what God has in store for us.  My brother and his wife have graciously offered to let us use their cabin in Ruidoso for a while, so the first thing on our agenda is to take some time to get away, hear God, and hopefully find what He has in mind for our future.  We are more than anxious to serve Him in whatever capacity He offers us.

Change can be scary…but it can also be very, very good.  Living things grow and change.  We honestly feel like God has propelled us into this change.  Our future is veiled…but only to us.  We know God is in complete control!  (Please feel free to remind me of this along the way…)  The Dietz family would really appreciate your prayers.  Between us & our 4 kids, 4 of us as families are moving right now–as well as my brother!  It’s been a little crazy!!

“But those who wait for the Lord [who expect, look for, and hope in Him] shall change and renew their strength and power; they shall lift their wings and mount up [close to God] as eagles [mount up to the sun]; they shall run and not be weary, they shall walk and not faint or become tired.”      Isaiah 40:31 Amplified Version