18/05/2026
The series continues… ❤️
This week’s travel story is a little different.
It’s more than just a trip…
It’s a moving story.
My parents grew up in rural west-central Illinois. After they got married, they moved to Des Moines, Iowa. A few years later, after my brother and I were born, my dad received a job promotion that moved our family to Dallas, Texas.
For the first 12 years of my life, cities were all I knew.
And honestly?
I loved it.
There was always somewhere to go, something to do, and people everywhere.
Then one day, God made it clear to my parents that it was time to move “home” — back closer to family in rural Illinois.
I was devastated.
We landed in the tiny town of Alpha, Illinois.
No stoplights.
No fast food.
No sirens.
(Though there were PLENTY of trains. 😅)
The neighbors were kind, but there weren’t many kids my age nearby. Thankfully, I loved sports and music, so I quickly found ways to stay busy and make friends.
But something incredible happened because of that move.
When my parents bought the house we were going to live in, they chose one that seemed to fit everything they were looking for.
What they didn’t know was that God had tucked a promise into that house.
The house came with a swimming pool — one that had been well-loved by a family with two girls and one boy close in age to my brother and me.
That summer, during sports workouts, we met them and quickly became friends. Eventually, we learned that their aunt had owned the house we were now living in.
As summer turned into fall, the connection between that boy and me grew.
I was far too young to think seriously about dating, but there was an obvious bond between us.
He started spending time at our house.
Playing board games with my family.
Eating meals with us.
And little by little, this city girl started learning about farming, small-town life, and the beauty of simpler things through him and his family.
Fast forward five years, and that boy had become my very best friend.
We officially started dating when I turned sixteen.
By the time I graduated high school, I was already 99% sure he was the one I would marry.
It only took one semester of college seven hours away to settle the final 1%. ❤️
My favorite part of this story is looking back and seeing how faithfully God ordered every step of my life — even my parents’ difficult decision to move our family across the country.
What felt heartbreaking to me at the time became one of God’s greatest gifts in my life.
Because of their obedience, I met my husband.
And all these years later, I still thank God daily for His guidance, His provision, and the incredible man He gave me to walk through life with.
Sometimes the journeys we resist the most end up leading us exactly where we were always meant to be. ✨
