Unexpected encouragement

The week after we got back from our trip out west, I had the privilege of going back to La Crosse for a farewell for my good friend Janet Chestnut. She started the CMDA 'Side by Side' ministry in La Crosse the same year that Matt started residency there and I have said many times, I can't imagine what our life would have looked like without Side by Side. Janet had a vision for encouraging resident wives through those difficult years of training and I had a desire to connect with women. It was a perfect match and neither of us knew at the time just how amazing God's timing was.

Through Side by Side, I was not only encouraged in my own marriage and able to encourage Matt in his difficult years of training, but I also realized how much I loved being able to teach women about God's Word and seeing women come into a relationship with Jesus. Much of my time in La Crosse was spent meeting with Janet and planning SBS events/Bible studies/get togethers and I cherished every moment with her, learning from someone who had walked the same road I was walking and had come through it successfully. And when I left La Crosse for Columbus, I left with so much excitement and enthusiasm for starting another SBS chapter in Columbus. So when I got an invitation to come to Janet's final SBS study and join her for a farewell luncheon, I rearranged everything I needed to in order to make sure I would be there.  

Janet and I

Several of the women who made the trip back to La Crosse or who still live there that were part of the original group when we started 9 years ago.

And a picture with my friend Robin, the woman who single-handedly started the entire Side by Side ministry over 25 years ago and the brains behind it all!

I titled this post 'unexpected encouragement' because I went to La Crosse to say 'thank you' to Janet for all she has done, but instead I found the Lord using my time there to encourage me. You see, just a few days before we had left for our trip out west, Matt got some very disturbing news at work--news that made it clear that he could no longer stay at his current practice. And it looked like we would probably be making a move--but we had no idea where it might be and had no leads at this point. 

I sat down to hear Janet's farewell talk and her theme verse for her talk was John 4:4 'And He had to go through Samaria.' The main point of Janet's talk was that sometimes, we have to go through a specific place in order for the Lord to get us to where He intends for us to 'land'. For Janet, she had to go through La Crosse on her way to Nashville, but it was so clear why she had to! SBS La Crosse would never have existed if her and her husband hadn't moved there. And as I sat there, I realized the same was true for our family. I felt like my version would say, "And they had to pass through Woodbury". It was not a mistake or an accident that we were in Woodbury for almost 5 years, nor was it a surprise to the Lord that Matt would receive the news he did and we would be looking to leave. It was all part of His plan. And it was also encouraging to me to be sitting at lunch next to Robin--a woman who had lived through several moves with her husband, including two after their training years were finished. She has lived through it all and talking with her during lunch gave me great encouragement and wisdom in going forward, both for myself and also for Matt in his search for a different practice to join. 

So I thought I was going to La Crosse to say 'thank you' to Janet for all she had done and to wish her well going forward, but the Lord had plans for Janet and Robin to speak truth into my life and be an encouragement to me. I love it when the Lord takes our expectations and turns them upside-down and brings about something even more amazing! And this luncheon was just the beginning!