Lessons Learned – Why we postponed our move

We were all set to prepare to move to the Dallas-Fort Worth, TX area later this year, but then God interrupted our plans and did a work in my life to really make me think about what I was doing.  We were ready, we had prayed, we had taken two trips to scout out the area and make some decisions as to where we were going to live.  As we got to the “last days” (days before giving our final notice to vacate our current apartment) God began working in my life to teach me some valuable lessons that I would like to share with the readers of this blog.  These may not be overly profound or new to you, but they were great confirmation in my life that sometimes even the best plans need to be put on hold.

1. I cannot let my career be the sole driver in any decision – sure this is a good move for me, but is it a good move for my family?  I believe that it is a good move, in the right time and in a responsible manner (will explain this one more in detail).  I have seen too many people let their careers drive every facet of their lives and I can tell you that it does not end well for these driven people.
2. We cannot go into debt to accomplish this move – The problem I had in planning this move was twofold:  I believe that I started too late.  We decided to make the move in February after taking a trip in October.  We made another scouting trip in May and had found an apartment complex.  I tabulated the costs involved but my problem was that I was not adding them all together, but rather keeping them separate.  When I sat down with a good friend, who happens to be an accountant, he brought my concerns into perspective by showing me the total cost of my move and then I realized how short I was going to come up.  This was a major concern for me because I did not want to accumulate anymore debt because I am trying to payoff debt that I already had.
3. Educational concerns were also very important in the decision to delay.  Joseph has done so well at his current school and I hated to interrupt that – not knowing where we would put him in school in the DFW area.  By delaying, this will allow us a greater opportunity to find the right school for Joseph.  We are currently looking for a Christian school or for a Classical school or a combination of both.  Unfortunately, the ones that we have looked at already are a small fortune and in some cases 2-3 times higher than the tuition I currently pay!  If you know of anything that would fit what I have mentioned above, please let me know in the Comments section.

This is still a good move for us, but I am glad that the Lord intervened and allowed us to delay for a year in order to accomplish it in a responsible manner. We are currently praying for the opportunity to get rid of our debt (working on that), and then saving money (as we are able) to be able to move in July 2014.  A lot can change within a year, we will wait and see how God works in this situation!