This summer I read several books, set in a myriad of settings, from the island of Corfu, to the English countryside of Wessex. I am amazed how a setting in a story sets the stage for the unfolding of characters, and their lives. My setting in my story changed this summer dramatically. My sister and I moved from a small town, in a small trailer, to a beautiful farmhouse in the country. So a new chapter has opened up in my story, with a whole new setting.
This house has been like a dream come true. It is a house that I used to pass by on the bus to and from school, never dreaming that one day I might live there. We moved to the house in May, and as we moved in, the very unseasonable torrential rains of May and June followed. The days were wet and cold as we waited for summer to show up. We had moved into this dreamy house almost finished, but not quite!!! It was hard to wait, but slowly over weeks that turned into a few months, our beautiful house was finished.
The joy of unpacking, treasure hunting, and decorating spilled out into a need to show off our blessing. We set a date and had an open house to invite friends and family to come in and see all of our work completed. Everyone was delighted and so congratulatory, the compliments were humbling.
Now all is in place, and a new story will begin to unfold, because life is really like books. One chapter ends and a new story begins, a new setting, and new people. As I sit at the kitchen table I wonder and hope about the unknown. What story is God telling in my life? How will God stretch and grow me here? What new experiences will shape me? What story will develop here in this lovely old house? I cling to God in the hopes of his romancing my heart and my sister Sierra’s heart too. God is faithful to change the settings of our lives, to open us up to more. More of Him, and more of the beauty of His kingdom provision.
Like a chapter change in a novel, the house came to us, the characters, when we were ready. I was never ready until now. I just praise God for the years he took to gently prepare me for more. He knew that I needed to heal, to be able to receive a new chapter setting in my story, the story he is telling in my life. What is the setting of your life? Does it invite the beauty of story telling? ~Starla