I, like most people, am a creature of habit. I love the things in life that make me comfortable. I love warm blankets and good books and home. I like routines and schedules and things to go as expected. I was content living in my hometown for the rest of my life. Sure, things weren’t perfect, but they were good and stable and fine. Except for that nagging feeling that something was missing.
You see God told me to go. I first felt it in my early 20s, but I said heck no and went about my tidy little life. I had a few friends who were decent enough, and I lived at home with my parents in an environment I knew well. Sure, I had hopes and dreams and plans, but they all happened within a few-mile radius. Then I started dating my husband and let him know where we would live. We eventually married and started our little family a few minutes away from all the things I’d ever known.
Then again, there was that voice of God whispering go. Again, I said no. Why would I do that? Why would I go? That would be terrifying. Leave my parents? My sister? The people I thought would always be my friends? In case you haven’t figured it out yet, I can be a bit stubborn, especially when I think I know what’s best or when my comforts are challenged. We were saving for a house, and I knew which teachers my kids would have, and my daughter already had the same doctor I had had my whole life.
In my stubbornness, though, I started to see cracks in my picture-perfect life. The friends I had weren’t as solid as I’d originally thought, and how quickly the church I grew up in forgot about me when I took a break from ministry. The teachers were leaving, and suddenly, I wondered what would happen if I just said yes. If I just let it all go. Let go of the things still holding me there. Let go of the plans I made and the dream I was clinging so tightly to.
So, I did. I said yes, and the plan the Lord unfolded was greater than anything I could have imagined. I gave up some things, but I gained so much more. I was holding onto this image of what I thought I needed, what I thought my family needed, and when I let go—when I said yes—boy did the blessings flow.
Sometimes I wonder what would have happened if I had just let go sooner. If I had said yes when He first started pestering me. Maybe less heartache, but each lesson was important to who I am now. Hear me, though: What are you saying no to? Are you just saying no because you’re scared? I can tell you that every part of this journey has been scary. I moved 1,200 miles from home. It was terrifying. I left behind everyone and everything I knew, but that yes brought me more than I’ll ever know what to do with. So instead of saying no next time, what if you just say yes?
by JD Hartz 
by Jordan Morgan 
