Leaving your old life behind to start a new one requires a step in faith and, in my case, a nudge from God.

It was in October 2022 when I felt this nudge. We were visiting my in-laws whose home rests on a cattle farm. This farm has been in the family for generations. The land that has been passed down and the work that comes with it is sentimental and valued as it honors the sacrifices made by all the loved ones who have made their marks here. It’s a personal link between old generations and new.

As generations go on, fewer and fewer people have the desire to plant their hands in the dirt and their boots in manure for a living. It begged the question: Who would become the next guardian of this heirloom?

My husband is a sentimental man and a planner. He told me long before we got married that he wanted to one day return home to relieve his father of the backbreaking responsibilities and challenges that come with having a farm. Neither of us were ready for it at the time, so we decided to revisit the idea in 10 years.

It’s amazing how quickly 10 years go by. It would take another year to feel fully convinced that it was time to uproot our life in the suburbs and move to the countryside.

I was in the RV letting our parrots out so they can spread their wings after being an a cage much smaller than they’re used to when I felt an urge to pray. I laid on the bed, not really knowing what to say at first. A wave of affection for my birds came over me as I watched them preen their feathers and flap their wings.

I began thanking God for my beautiful birds. And then I thanked Him for our dog who makes us feel so loved, even when we’re at our worst. I thanked Him for the land, the cows and their calves, and Amos, the horse whose gentle nature melts my heart.

All of a sudden, in the midst of my thanksgiving, a thought popped into head: “They’re going to need you. I gave you a heart for animals, and they need you here.”

This thought wasn’t my own. I wasn’t ready to leave all that I know behind and start a way of life that is foreign to me.

No Next-Day deliveries from Amazon. No Door Dash or Uber Eats.

No H-E-B.

But nonetheless, it was a clear message from God. This was going to be the next chapter.

We either choose the path God has set before us or we don’t. God’s way or our way. Those are the only 2 choices we really have in life. My way was to stay in my comfortable, beautiful home in the suburbs with dual income and one of the best schools in the state three streets down. But in order to be the person God wants me to be I have to step out of my comfort zone. I have to be willing to be stretched so that I can be conformed and molded into the best version of myself.

This sparked a desire to revisit the book of Ruth.

This short book in the Bible is only four chapters long (If you blink, you’ll miss it) is one that everyone can relate to in one way or another and is known as one of the most romantic stories ever told. A foreigner with a pagan upbringing and a grieving heart follows her mother-in-law to Israel after all the men in their family died from a famine. She begins working in the field of a prominent landowner named Boaz. They fall in love and get married.

Because this woman followed God’s calling, regardless of her pagan past, God’s love and grace placed her as a direct descendant of our Wonderful Redeemer, Jesus Christ.

As I follow God’s calling, I want to have faith like Ruth. Join me as I go through this journey of alterations. I’m sure, dear reader, you are on a journey as well. There are the two paths you can take: God’s way or your way. Which one will you choose?