Discussion

Barb and I had a discussion today while I was home for lunch. We talked about the last four years and how everything that has happened in our family has been so necessary. When we moved to Providence we both thought that there was a reason for it, when we left we left confused thinking that we never found out what the reason was. We have both had the same feeling about moving back to Santa Clara, there is a specific reason, yet we have not had any "big" thing happen that we can say "yeah, that is why we had to move back". As we talked about the changes that we have both been going through the last 2 or 3 weeks especially we can now look back and see many reasons for our move to Providence and our subsequent move back to Santa Clara. We have both realized that all that has happened over the last 4 years was necessary to make it possible for us to learn what we are learning right now. We can also see that the effects of our move to Providence and back has had an effect on others as well. As we consider all the changes and effects that have happened in our own lives, we can see the effect and influence the events of the last 4 years have had on others. It is interesting to see how intertwined our circle of influence is. Our actions influence others, our family, our friends, and others who we didn't even know at the time. I look at the friendships that we made in Providence with thankfulness, knowing that if we had not followed the prompting to move to Cache Valley, we would have missed out on these friends and acquaintances. They have changed us, we have changed them, looking back we can see on a small scale the "reasons" for all that has transpired over the last 4 years.
If we allow the Lord to guide us, He can mold us into the person that He knows we are. I am starting to realize that this process extends throughout our lives. He will always try to mold and shape us if we allow Him to. It is interesting, a few weeks ago I would have told you that I could not point out 1 single reason for our move to Providence and back. Today, I can't count all of the reasons that have been brought to my attention. In fact, I find new reasons with each day that goes by. It is an amazing experience.