GOD'S GOT THIS!

Jim and I weren’t the only ones to move in September.  Our eldest daughter Amy moved from a condo she was renting into her own home in the city of Phoenix, Arizona.  Becky, our youngest, moved with her husband into a rental condo in the city of Kissimmee, here in Florida.  So we’re all in the same situation of adjusting to a new place to live, as well as finding friends.

Amy, the outgoing one among us Elwoods, had little trouble.  A single woman, she never hesitated to go places alone and just be friendly!  Now, in her new neighborhood, she’s already visited local restaurants and began chatting with neighbors on her daily dog walk. 

Becky is a little quieter, but the last few years in New Jersey she had been making a concerted effort to get her high school classmates together.  Several times a year she’d meet with one group or another for dinner and they’d have a great time catching up and encouraging one another through their life stages.  She now considers dear friends so many young women she hadn’t been close to when she was in high school. She was often the catalyst for getting work mates together as well. Now that she’s in Florida she’s missing those friends.  She said recently that it’s hard not knowing anyone, AND not having anyone know her!  

Becky, the quieter one, is a lot like me.  Thank the Lord for His grace, I’m a lot better at being friendly than I was when I was younger, but making good friends still takes me a while.  So I too am missing the friends I know and love back in New Jersey, and missing being with people who know ME. 

So, I was truly blessed today when Jim and I walked into the offices of ECHO* here in North Fort Myers.  We had signed up to volunteer in the library and were on our way to meet the person who would provide our assignments. When we reached her door, we were met with a surprise.  

More than 20 years ago, when we were members of a church in New Jersey, we met the Langford family.  Sid Langford was the patriarch of a long line of Langfords who served as missionaries in Africa.  Here at ECHO in North Fort Myers, Florida was another one, identified by her name on the door, Betsy Langford.  This quiet, unassuming young lady greeted us and got us started doing some computer work for ECHO.

This was a small, serendipitous thing, but also a bit of encouragement from the Lord that He, who is sovereign over the serendipitous, can connect us anywhere in the world with those who also love Him. He can certainly provide the relationships of love and fellowship I long to have here.  

Last night I was at a birthday party for my stepdad where I met a lovely woman. Her daughter in law gave birth earlier in the day to a baby with heart issues.  The baby had been whisked half the state away to a pediatric hospital and this grandma was consumed with worry even while she was celebrating with us.  On our way out to our cars I asked if I could pray for her and she agreed.  Who knows but that this might be the beginning of a friendship?  God’s got this too.

It is now 2022 and we are on the verge of another move, an hour and a half north of where we currently reside.  We already have friends there.  Jim worked with the husband for many years when we lived in New Jersey and that helps make the move a bit easier, but we're once again facing another time of adjustment and friend making.

We've lived here for nearly seven wonderful years, and though it took a long time, I have now established some treasured friendships with kindred spirits who love God and His Word.  I'm already praying for opportunities to get to know neighbors and for the Lord to provide another group of kindred spirit women who desire to study the Bible together so I can continue leading Bible studies in my home, as I've done for the last seven years.  

I'm not feeling quite as anxious this time around, because I've seen the Lord's faithfulness to answer my prayers for friends like that, right here in my own neighborhood.  What a comfort and joy it is to be able to depend on my Sovereign Lord who goes before me, preparing the way, and providing for my spiritual needs even before we get where we're going.  He's still got this!.