Change for the DeLoach household

There is a lot that comes to mind when I think of the word change.....new start, clean slate, scary, something different, the unknown. Then the phrase comes to mind, change for the better or worse.

Awhile back, I guess about four months ago now, my husband comes to me after the kids are in bed and asks me the question....what do you think about moving? As I dropped everything that I was doing in total shock of his question my first question was, to where? To which he responded still here in Birmingham, just a different area of town...East Lake. To those of you who do not live in B'ham or even AL for that matter, EL isn't the best area of town. There are better parts than others, but it's an area that has lots of poverty & lots of needs. For example 61% of the children are raised by their grandparents (what we've seen is generally just the grandmothers). EL is not somewhere you would move to have a "better" life for yourself. I use the word "better" as a worldly term - better things, nicer things, those things that are viewed great by us sinful people of this world.

My first response to moving was, BUT we haven't lived in this house long AND we just got a really nice privacy fence in the backyard AND we're in a great school system AND we live close to great stores & restaurants AND we have great neighbors AND then I said it...the big "C" word, I'm very comfortable here. As soon as I said it I wanted to take it back, I knew right then that a for sale sign would be in our yard not long after our conversation. Not that we aren't supposed to be comfortable, but we are to care for those who are in poverty. I know for me personally living in this nice house in my "280 world" I get caught up in my comfort and don't go & serve & spread the gospel like I am commanded. James 1:27. Again for those of you not from B'ham, "280 world" means Hwy 280. This is where we live currently and it has wonderful shops, restaurants, and some of the richest neighborhoods in the city.

Yes the thought of moving to an unknown area of town that will not be as comfortable as I currently am now is scary. The unknown, which we would experience anywhere we moved, is more scary to me than the area of town we'll be living in. I have been serving on a monthly basis (Ben more than that) in East Lake and the more I'm there & the more I get to know the people the less scary it seems. I'm not a person that really likes lots of change, but a couple of years ago I told God, my life is yours do with it as you please so that I may live so that You get the glory. Who am I to pick and choose what I do for God's glory? I'm either committed fully or not. If that means being a little scared of the unknown and of what God has called us to do then that's ok. After lots of conversations & tears I can honestly say that I'm excited about the for sale sign in our yard. I'm excited about that fact that we will be making serving & sharing our life and not just something that we have to fit into our already busy schedule. Even if it does means that change is required and nothing is going to be the same as it once was in our comfortable lifestyle. A verse that I quote daily is Joshua 1:9 "be strong and brave! Don’t be afraid and don’t panic, for I, the Lord your God, am with you in all you do."

I praise God for a husband that is a spiritual leader of our home and who loves God more than he loves me. And, in that, I am deeply loved.