Skip to main content

Pastures, Provision, and Purpose

At the age of five, my family decided to move from the Sunny State of CA to the middle of nowhere Dawson, Nebraska. My father dreamed of living in a small town. He pictured a story-like town with faces everyone knew and a strong community. So, he packed up the family, and we settled into a population of a whopping 168! We moved into a two-story fixer-upper and my Mom quickly began her magical touch of making the house become a home.
There were many differences between our life in CA and our new lives in NE. First and foremost, the people. In CA, our neighbors were cordial. Waving, "hello" as we passed by and asking the respectful, but not intrusive, "How are you?" In NE, our neighbors invited themselves to our home. I will never forget the day my mother opened the door to a man named, Bill Stivicks. Dressed in overalls and work boots, Bill walked right into our living room, introduced himself, and plunked himself down on our sofa. My mother, alarmed and confused all at the same time, handled the situation well, politely offering him a beverage. He later became my Father's dearest friend and a helpful resource for our transition.
Another difference was our house. The newness of the space we soon called home became an adventurous inspiration for imagination. Our home had a basement, a new feature from CA homes, which my sister and I pretended was a dungeon of terror, holding complete darkness and vicious spiders. Our backyard faced a pasture full of cows who stared us down with expressions of boredom every time we poked our noses to the fence and peered through. The giant oak trees outlining our home housed a wooden swing where I sat and pondered the complexities of my little, five-year-old mind.
Our time in NE was never easy. My parents argued often, my Dad's works schedule strained our family, and we desperately missed our loved ones back home. We lived in Dawson for one year. My father's dreams met reality as he learned community can be found anywhere, not just in the small towns of the country. I hold many fond memories in our little home because of the freedom it brought to experience adventure. Looking back, I see the Lord using others to support our family, and I am grateful for all we learned during the season in NE. My family trusted God's provision in leaving CA. In turn, my father listened to the needs of his family and trusted God's plan by returning to CA. To this day, I think the decision proved very difficult for my father, but I firmly believe the Lord used my father's dreams and desires to mold them into His plans and purpose.I write this with the hope of encouraging you in your dreams. Whatever your heart desires may you seek the Lord with your plans.
What I know of God is solely based on what He chooses to reveal to me. As I live and reflect on my experiences, I know this to be true, "In their hearts humans plan their course, but the LORD establishes their steps" (Proverbs 16:9). May you run toward the Lord in all you do, throwing aside destractions and hindrances and focussing on the One who sacrificed His life for your salvation.
All my love,
Gennavieve

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Hampton Court Palace

Today, I toured Hampton Court Palace, an official historic, royal palace. Following are some of the sights I saw, history I learned, and favorites I enjoyed. The guard chamber of King William III. The magnificent display of 2,871 items of armor and weapons displayed a message that William was a great soldier and peacemaker. William's Presence chamber. Only high-ranking individuals were permitted into this room. William would be distinguished by sitting on a Chair of Estate. Those who entered his presence were required to remove their hats and make three low bows to the King, or even his empty chair. I'm grateful to serve an accessible King, who is with me wherever I go. William's eating room. He was expected to dine here on occasions "in front of persons of good fashion and good appearance," in order to display the sumptuousness of his food and to reassure everyone he was in good health. He was served by three servants on bended knee. William's P

Oopsy Daisy

Today I learned a cultural lesson through my daisy chain making. I was just being typical Gennavieve, frolicking in the fields between the rose geranium and picking daisies. I decided to make a chain and, before long, I had quickly assembled a round daisy necklace. I held it for a bit and then one of the workers, Mikeal, came up to our group and I decided to give it to him, so I put the flower garland around his head and it plopped on his neck. Little did I know that my actions meant much more than I had intended. Mikeal's eyes lit up and he screamed in Zulu to his coworkers, proudly showing off his chain. I giggled at first and then after the eruption of laughter from the workers, I realized that I had done something unusual. I swiftly found Pendele, one of the women who I've grown to trust and love who also translates for us, and asked her to explain why the men had been laughing. She began to laugh herself when I told her and after she regained composure she sai

JCR Welcoming Dinner

As part of New College, I was cordially invited to a welcoming dinner in the JCR Private Dining Room at St. Catherine's College. This invitation is considered an incredible honor and, after talking to the presidents, many students never receive the privilege of a formal dining experience in a college hall. The evening called for black tie attire, which meant tuxes for the guys and formal dresses for the girls. Luckily, I packed my sister's pink cotton candy gown. The evening began in a welcoming chamber. We entered and, having been handed a glass of sherry, began making small conversation. After a social bit, we were lead to the dining hall, where we were seated at a table purposely designed higher than the other tables in the hall, symbolizing its importance. The plates had individual name cards, designating seats. I sat to the left of the special, middle head-chair which seated, Deepak Mukhi, our program director. I took one glance at my place setting, noting the multi