Steps of Faith

So here we are in a new year, 2010. I remember someone asking me when I was a child what I thought I'd be doing in the year 2000. In my childish mind I thought the year 2000 sounded like it must be 1000 years away. My answer was something like, "I'll be ALIVE in the year 2000?"
Little did I realize back in 1980-something, I would be bringing my first child in to the world in that enigmatic year. And so here we are in the year 2010.
This year already packs great promise.
It brings my mother and stepfather to live in the house right next-door to me. If you knew them, you'd know how amazing it is that my mom (who has said she would never move again) and my stepdad, Chip (whose picture is next to the entry "creature of habit" in the dictionary) are the last folks that I ever dreamed would leave their Florida home to come here to this chilly place called Georgia. (Well, it's chilly right now.)
We moved from St. Petersburg, Florida in July of 2008 on a crazy step of faith. We believed that God was leading us here and was showing us that by opening the doors for me to teach at a Christian school in this area. Knowing that, and nothing else except that God would not lead us where he wouldn't keep us, we took the step. Since then God has continually confirmed to us that the choice to obey him was the right one by leading us a little further down the path each day. He provided everything. A friends' home to stay in while we got settled, a job for Scott, our dream home, and on and on.
Then one day the house next door to the afore mentioned dream home was put up for sale. I jokingly told Mom that she should move in. (Doesn't it always start with a joke?) After a few more weeks of frustration at her job she "jokingly" asked me to check around to see if I could find her a job. Before I knew it I found myself talking to a friend in her line of work who actually did need someone in his office. (Someone just like Mom as a matter of fact.) What are the chances my stepdad's employer would be asking him to make a choice between a promotion to a VP position or ... well, nothing. Too bad the VP position had an impossible list of demands. The alternative (finding something better somewhere else) was looking a lot better. Mom and Chip were in a position to make a move and now it was their turn to take the step of faith. I am so glad they did.
Tomorrow, they will get in their car to drive the eight hours to their new little town in Georgia. What an amazing God of no coincidences we serve. Now he has blessed us with having our family right next door. 2010 is looking pretty promising!