Let Go and Let God Lead.  By Laura Carson.

” … he who walks in darkness does not know where he is going.” John 12:35c (NKJV) 

It was eight years ago this month that there was a terrible accident right in front of where we lived. Highway 70 near Oroville, California had claimed several lives in recent months. This time the news struck closer to home, literally. Our son Paul was on his way to work from Paradise. His car was struck head-on by an impaired driver. Both died instantly. Paul would have been 43 years old in two weeks. 

I shared that, not to invoke sadness or sympathy, but so you might understand my (our) state of mind. To have to drive by the site almost daily was unbearable.

Paul knew Jesus and went home to be with Him, I am sure. For that I was and am most grateful!

Within weeks my husband and I were talking about relocating to Reno, Nevada. His sister lives there and we could be closer to her.  At this juncture, I need to confess that I strongly dislike the landscape in the Reno area. My heart is happier among pine trees.

During this time frame there was an HBH Chapter in Portola, California, which is only 45 minutes from Reno.  I thought to myself, I know some of those ladies. Maybe I could become a part of their HBH chapter. They have pine trees there. These would be my new “peeps”, my support system. 

I did become a member of the Portola board. On their monthly meeting dates we drove three hours each way. While I was at board meetings there, my husband and sister -in- law would look for prospective homes for us in Reno. 

We did find a place that we were very interested in. It was in a lovely senior park that had a pool, and the space rent was much less than we paid in Oroville. Luckily at this same time there was a couple that was very interested in our home in Oroville. However, without asking our permission our real estate agent made a promise to the prospective buyers. She knew that my husband worked as a house painter, so she assumed he wouldn’t mind removing all of the popcorn ceilings as a contingency of the sale. The way our mobile was built, the manufacturer sprayed the entire house ceiling before putting up any walls, so the popcorn ceilings were even in the closets. Can you imagine how dirty and messy that would have been?  And they expected us to do this while we were still living there! My husband was still working full time, so the time and work required to remove all the popcorn ceilings, as well as the terrible mess of the project, was unrealistic.  We said No, and fired the realtor for being unprofessional and unfair to us, and took the signs down. 

During all that I have shared thus far, have you noticed anything missing? 

“There is a way that seems right to a man.” Proverbs 14:12a (NKJV)

Oh, I was praying and grieving. But, I was not in the Word. I neglected my quiet times. And I was not listening for the promptings of the Holy Spirit.

When I finally realized all I was missing, I opened my Bible and that was the first scripture that I saw.  “Seems” was the key word that stood out to me. 

I stayed in my prayer closet and in the Word and in prayer much of the next two days. I did not mention to my husband that I was sensing we were not making good decisions, and that I felt doors were definitely closing to Reno. (Sadly, my husband has not been walking with the Lord.)

Meanwhile our younger son had become very serious with his girlfriend. They invited us out to breakfast one morning. As soon as we were all seated, she blurted out,

“We don’t want you to move three hours away!  And just think, if you lived close by Brian could stop by after work and help you with things. And we want you involved in our lives, not just once a month.”

My husband asked me if I knew anything about this? It was hard to reply through my happy tears. Now I clearly knew why there were closed doors to Reno. 

On a warm spring day in April 2022 our son married his beautiful bride Aja, and we were also blessed with a new grandson through this marriage.

It was one of the most fun weddings I have ever attended! So much laughter and joy and happy hugs! Our hearts were so full!

In July of that same year my husband and I moved to our new home in Los Molinos, California, where we are close to our son and his family. We have meals together two times a week. And our son does come over often and helps us with many things.

God has opened doors for us here. I have a new church home in a beautiful historical church with a loving church family. And I have a one-day-a-week job delivering fresh produce for Field to Fork. We are so grateful for the closed doors in Reno and open ones here. Praise God!

The first scripture I read when I returned to my prayer closet back then was  Isaiah 30:21-

 “This is the way, walk in it.” 

I am mindful of where my thoughts took me when I was not walking closely with the Lord or listening for His voice. The Lord was steering us toward what was best for us. I now guard my quiet time with the Lord. It is so important to stay in close fellowship with Him!