I know I don’t have a ton of readers, but some of you might be wondering after last week’s post: Okay, what does she mean she’s moving to Texas? Didn’t she just move? What’s up that she’s moving again? Why Texas? (Oh, sorry, the last one is my question.)

Well, here’s the long and short of it. I have a very good friend in Texas whose father owns and operates a hospice care. Two weeks ago he called me up, told me his office manager is leaving, and offered me the job. I was so surprised I didn’t know what to say. (My friend told me later he thought he shocked me – he did.) I told him I’d let him know in a few days.

You would have thought someone asked me to take a job on the moon. The thing is, going back to office work in the state of Texas was the last thing I was considering. It doesn’t seem point in the direction I want to go. Texas? It’s even more flat, and more treeless, and a lot hotter than Indiana. (Not to mention all the concrete, shopping malls, theatres, and restaurants buzzing with activity 24/7.) I also know it. Like I told my parents, if the job had been in Arizona I wouldn’t have thought twice – at least that’s somewhere I haven’t been. And office work? Well, some people think filing and putting stuff in order is a great gift. To me, it’s a way of life.

But it’s a new adventure. I have a place to live (with my grandfather) until the Lord moved in another direction. I already have friends there. I do know my way around. I know my boss (even if I don’t know much about the business). And he offered it to me! “Aren’t you flattered, Melissa?” Mom asked a hundred times. “Yes, yes,” I waved that aside, “but…”

I had a lot of buts. I had a lot of mixed signals. One moment I thought I could do it. The next I thought I should just wait for what I want. Not that I don’t intend to write most of my spare moments. And not that I can’t work with kids at whatever church I attend. (Which is something y’all could keep in prayer – do you know how many churches there are in Texas?) Finally, I could stand it no longer. I cried out to the Lord. “I don’t care!” I told Him. “But, please, I have got to have peace about this. Go or stay. Give me peace.”

He did. And I’m going. My first day of work is August 17. I will drive down there and arrive the Thursday or Friday before. I don’t consider it a “real” move because I’m not packing up my room and moving everything down there. Just most of my clothes, some of my books, DVDs, CDs, and “comfort things” like a couple of stuffed pandas and photographs. I don’t really want to stay in Texas very long, but if the Lord has other plans (which, apparently, He does and I ought to know that anyhow by now) and an apartment or whatever is in store for later then I’ll really move. Until then, I’m still hoping I can settle somewhere with mountains, trees, winter, and snow.

So keep me in your prayers as I make this adjustment. There are several things to be put in order here in Indiana. It’s been a while since I’ve worked a full time job. My grandfather and I both will have to get use to living with one another. I need the Lord to provide for me a church (hopefully without having to visit twenty along the way). I’ll need to learn to adjust my time so I can write and continue my pursuit of publication. I’d like to find a writer’s group, someone/place to play tennis, and I hope I don’t keel over in the Texas heat. And, no doubt, I will have a few bouts with homesickness. But, The Lord is faithful. And He doesn’t change. And He doesn’t leave me. In the end, all will be well.