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Home on the Range - Move 4
- Lois Krogh
- 2 days ago
- 4 min read
Lord willing when this is posted, we are somewhere on the road between Georgia and Texas. During this long decision process we have reflected on the many moves we have made. Each of them have been testimonies to God’s mercy and faithfulness. They have been structural faith builders. Unmistakable evidence that the Lord has gone before us. And right now, in the mess of moving, I need to revisit these stories. I share them with you to strengthen your faith in whatever place you may be at present. The Lord who fed the multitude with five loaves and two fishes said He will provide for you.
“But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness,
and all these things will be added to you.”
Matthew 6:33
Through a series of events, God made it clear to Steve and myself that He was calling Steve to something different.
Steve loved being a pastor. I loved being a pastor’s wife. But we had to say goodbye to friends and the body of Christ we had served and loved for 15 years. We had lived in the home of Amelia Drive longer than anywhere else. (and still longer than the next two homes) Our children had grown up there, been baptized there, played countless basketball games there, attended multiple music recitals, learned to drive cars there, one was married there. I had buried my parents there. But we were being asked to leave, and we didn’t know exactly what we would be doing.
Godly men of the past have talked about the dark providence of God. This was a time of darkness for us. We were to experience that even in dark times, God is in control.
Pine Avenue, West Chicago, Illinois. 2014 - 2021
Because we didn’t know exactly what we would be doing, we had less options about where we would be living. Selling our home and moving was necessary. Three kids now lived in the Chicagoland area. We had close connections with a church there where we could worship. This seemed like the best plan: sell our home and rent an apartment until the way forward was more clear. Buying another home was not an option. You do know banks are hesitant about loaning money to someone without a job? As we calculated the cost of the rent of even a one bedroom apartment, we realized the equity we had built up in our home would dwindle. But where had that equity come from? The Lord. The maker of heaven and earth. He would provide. We began to make plans to move.
God had other plans. And this is a story that we still laugh about.
One day a friend of our oldest son asked Steve to go to lunch. He was very troubled by the situation we were in. He was more troubled to hear about our renting prospects.
Could he buy us a home?
What?!?!?
Who says these kinds of things? And this kid was just out of college. (His story is another great story, and one where the last chapter of God’s grace has not been written.)
He proposed that he give us the money so we could buy a home with a cash offer. Then after we sold ours, we would pay him back whatever profit we had from the sale. The rest of his "loan" would be a gift. In other words, we would own a home with no morgage!
Could this be true?
It was.
From that crazy conversation, things moved pretty quickly. It was but a few weeks later and we had an offer on our home in Michigan and had put an offer on a home in Chicago - both happening on the same day. The new home looked like a smaller version of the Michigan home with even the same front door! Three kids moved with us though one of them would be headed off to college in a month. (How God provided for that is another story I could tell you!) This home, at the end of a quiet street, had been beautifully landscaped. A jog up the side path and we could walk around a little pond. This was just one of the many walking paths that we enjoyed in all kinds of weather. Rest and refreshment that was sorely needed.
This home was strategically placed with easy access to the airport. Steve flew to California once a month for a year in a temporary job that the Lord provided. Later when he started teaching overseas we were thankful for being “just close enough” to the airport. We were three blocks from a school where I eventually worked as a tutor and from where we hosted several foreign exchange students. The local school district was perfect for our last son. The home’s basement quickly became a storeroom for books as Northampton Books helped with expenses. During Covid we met a young man who lived a block away from our home. He would eventually marry our daughter. It was through this move that I met the folks from Crossway and my journal was published.
Who knew all these details? God did. We started to count the evidences of God’s goodness until we were way beyond counting. These difficult times cemented our family together in a new way as we shared togehter the story of God's faithfulness. (And I found that that hard times were a great catalyst to writing poetry!) The impact this move had on our family will last for generations to come. The fruit from this move will be known in eternity.
“And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good,
for those who are called according to his purpose.”
Romans 8:28
And it was very good, Here's who was in our home during Covid and what kept them sane.
