Moving With Faith
My husband Paul and I have moved several times during our married life. Friends and fellow Church members have often asked ‘Why?’—not so much about our reasons for moving, but about the places we chose. No one questioned our decision to leave London for Cornwall. The beauty of the county and its generally warmer weather needed no explanation. But when, after our children left home, we moved from the far south-west to the far north-east of England, there were puzzled faces. The truth is that every move we’ve made, including the one that followed, came from the same guiding principle.
When we first married, we were content in London. But when our eldest child reached school age, we faced a challenge. In the local school, English was the first language for only a small minority of children. Teachers had to focus heavily on teaching English to pupils from twenty-seven different nationalities. This inevitably affected the education of native English speakers. Around that time Paul was released as bishop. We felt it was a natural moment to consider moving.
We prayed about it, asking, ‘Where do you want us to go, dear Lord?’ That prayer became the pattern for all our future decisions. We have always found ourselves in small Church units—places where there was much work to do and few to do it.
We did not set out with Cornwall in mind. We simply wanted a rural setting for our children. Paul applied for several jobs. Cornwall County Council offered him an interview, then the job. We spent eighteen happy years there, blessed despite many callings, cramped meeting rooms and the extra pressures of tourist season. Eventually we felt prompted to move again—this time to Alnwick, the most northerly branch of the Church in England.
On our first Sunday in Alnwick we walked into the rented rooms used for meetings and were greeted by a lively group of teenagers. ‘You’re going to be our next branch president,’ they told Paul, explaining that their parents had been praying for someone to move in. ‘That’s not how things work,’ Paul smiled. But three months later, following the departure of the missionary couple who had been serving in leadership, Paul was called as branch president. He served for six and a half years.
When he was released, we again felt prompted to move. We decided on Beverley in East Yorkshire to be near my widowed mother, then in her nineties. Her passing early in our planning did not change our minds, but three house purchases fell through in quick succession. I asked Paul, ‘Do you think the Lord is trying to tell us something?’
We widened our search to the next branch area, Bridlington. We found a house quickly, but the owners soon decided not to sell. I was almost in despair. Then, quite unexpectedly, the Lord blessed us with a better home—larger, cheaper and full of the historical details I love. We have been happy here ever since, serving in the Church as we can.
Elder Ronald Rasband once taught: ‘Our lives are like a chessboard, and the Lord moves us from one place to another—if we are responsive to spiritual promptings … Significant events unfold in the gospel and in the Church that further the kingdom of God on earth. They are not by accident but by God’s plan … Likewise, events and associations unfold in each of our lives that further God’s work on earth … The Lord is in the small details of our lives … Remember, as the Lord said to Abraham, “I know the end from the beginning; therefore my hand shall be over thee.”’ (Abraham 2:8)
Looking back, I see the truth of those words. The Lord has moved us according to His design, placing us where we could learn, grow and serve. None of it was by chance. Every place has brought blessings and opportunities to build His kingdom—both for our family and for those we have been called to serve.