The simple answer is ‘yes’! That doesn’t mean He is going to make our lives perfect. We live in the world and it’s not perfect… So we are going to have to deal with things, but He is right there with us. After all, Jesus was perfect, but He had to endure so many trials and persecution. We are not perfect, but God’s provisions sustain us! He cares about the mundane every day things in life. The Bible says in Psalm 37:4: “Delight yourself in the Lord, and he will give you the desires of your heart”. He wants to bless us. And when we make poor choices or go through tough times, He is like a parent who grieves over their children. Isaiah 63:9 – “In all their suffering he also suffered, and he personally rescued them.” He feels our suffering, just as He felt the Israelites suffering in the wilderness. He is also joyful when He sees our joy! Zephaniah 3:17 (NLT) states: “For the Lord your God is living among you. He is a mighty savior. He will take delight in you with gladness. With his love, he will calm all your fears. He will rejoice over you with joyful songs.”
I take hold of this belief and pray for the desires of my heart, even through the tough times.
I grew up as a military brat! Our family moved every 2-4 years my entire childhood. I was able to experience so many things that a lot of kids have never been able to experience, but it came at a cost.
Every time we had to move, I had to say goodbye to my newly acquired friends and start all over again. This was before the Internet and FaceTime. I had a couple penpals, but letters were slow and never sustainable.
The first friend I remember leaving was Amanda. She was my bestfriend in Florida in the mid-80’s and I was only 7. We were moving to Japan and I knew I would never see her again.
When we first moved to Misawa, Japan, we got a house on base in ‘North Area’ and happened to live down the street from a girl my age named Kim, so we became friends… But we soon moved to ‘Main Area’ and I lived in a quadraplex next to a family with 4 boys, one of which was my classmate, Aaron, and we became friends. We lived in ‘A’ and he lived in ‘B’. His little brother was friends with my brother and we played baseball in the courtyard, built snow tunnels in the winter, and had a great couple of years there.
We stayed in Japan for 4 years total and then got orders to move to Idaho. I was sad to leave because I had just gotten settled there and made good friends, plus the base had just built a ‘mall’!
Our next base was Mountain Home, ID, so on the flight back to America I prayed that I could live nextdoor to another friend. I thought it would help ease my transition to a new area. This time we moved into a duplex; we moved into ‘B’ and my good friend, Carrie, lived in ‘A’. Another answer to prayer! We stayed in Idaho for 2 years and then moved to Colorado.
We were driving to Colorado, so my mom made my dad chauffeur me while she took the other car because she couldn’t bare to hear me cry the entire trip down.
Again, when we moved into our house in Colorado, my bestfriend Robin lived nextdoor! I knew God was watching out for me and comforting me in the hard times.
In psychology, for up to 6 months after a move, the transition can trigger a situational adjustment known as ‘relocation depression.’ At times I would go through this depression for a few months. God was aware that it was going to be a difficult adjustment period for me, and He wanted me to know that He was there for me the entire time. No matter where I moved, He was with me.
I was in Colorado for 3 years and my dad gave me a choice. I was going into my Junior year and he said we could either move during the summer before Junior year or before Senior year. I thought about it a long time, and decided it would be better to leave before Junior year to have time to make friends before Senior year, which holds so many fun things like Prom, Graduation, etc.
He said we would most likely be moving to Germany. 2 weeks before we we going to leave, we found out we were actually getting stationed in England; it was a huge surprise!
This time I knew a friend nextdoor wasn’t necessary. I was almost 16 and I would be around friends regardless of where we lived, on-base or off-base, because even though I couldn’t drive overseas, I knew other people would have cars and I’d see them at school, and even just living in England would be worth it. I was still sad leaving my friends, but excited to see new things… But I still said my prayer to help me with the transition; only this time, instead of asking to move next to a friend, I asked for a pond in my backyard.
My parents found a house in Great Paxton, UK… It is a tiny little village. We did our usual house tour… But I was mainly concerned with checking out the backyard. I never told any one about my prayer for a pond, but with faith, I stepped outside and lo and behold, there was a pond!
God has been with me every step of the way and loves to show me He is there. He loves people enough to care about the small details, so even though we experience heartache and pain sometimes, He wants to give us our desires.
Deuteronomy 31:8 “Do not be afraid or discouraged, for the Lord will personally go ahead of you. He will be with you; he will neither fail you nor abandon you.”
