A Key, a Cupcake, and an Answered Prayer
Written By: Shanna Choate
**For other content written by Shanna, visit her blog at The Heart of a Farm Girl.
Go.
Go. “Really, God? Go?” There was sarcasm in my thoughts to God. IF: Gathering 2020 had just come to a close and I was challenged to write what God was speaking to me on a key. What was my next step of obedience? God had been telling my husband and I to “go” for years. Every time we thought we knew what that meant, we found out we really didn’t have a clue. “Okay, God. I KNOW we’re supposed to GO somewhere. Tell me where,” I pleaded.
A few days later, The Hubs, AKA Ray, announced that he thought we should try to sell our house as-is, and see what happened. We had fallen in love with a community in Wyoming after helping my dad move last year. The mountains were definitely calling, but we weren’t sure if God was.
The tugging at our hearts, hadn’t gone away, and we had been working on our house, trying to make progress that would make it more appealing for a buyer. We talked to a realtor, did some research, prayed, but we weren’t quite ready to take the next step. I cried out to God: “If this is YOU, if it is time to GO, please make it clear!” The clarity that followed was completely unexpected.
Thoroughly frustrated, I waited DAYS to write “GO” on my key. When I finally did, I decided to stamp it as a permanent reminder to trust God’s timing.
Cupcakes and Maps.
Two weeks after my little chat with God, The Hubs and I were to attend an event we were really excited about. It was Cup of Cold Water’s annual missions banquet. Ray called me as the time approached for him to be arriving home to let me know he was not going to make it on time. He had been helping a friend on a job in the city, and it ended up taking much longer than expected. He asked me bring him clothes and he’d try to meet me at the venue for the event.
I arrived just as the evening was beginning and scoured the room for a place to sit. I do not enjoy crowds, especially when The Hubs isn’t with me. A sweet friend found me and we found a table in the middle of the room and found another chair for Ray, and squeezed nine spots around a table meant for eight. I made Ray a plate and watched for him to arrive.
By the time The Hubs arrived, there were only two cupcakes left on the table. Remember earlier I said we squeezed nine of around a table set for eight? Well, the desserts were already in the center of the table, which meant SOMEONE wasn’t getting a cupcake. I definitely got mine, and I’m not sure who went without, but I was happy Ray would still get to indulge! I asked him if he’d like one, and plopped it in front of him. They were so beautiful, sprinkled in coarse sugar and wrapped in maps.
They were every bit as delicious as they look!
He sat there eating his cupcake and suddenly said, “let me see your wrapper!” He examined and said “well, that’s weird. Mine says Wyoming.” WYOMING y’all. I immediately became emotional and ripped it out of his hands in disbelief. Not only was Wyoming on that map, but Riverton, Wyoming. The very community we were drawn to. “Okay, God…I see You,” I thought. Ray looked back down at my wrapper, laughed and said, “Well, I guess you’re going to Africa and I’m going to Wyoming!”
When I asked for clarity, I didn’t expect a literal map! Riverton, Wyoming…HERE WE COME!
His Plan, His Timing.
A couple of weeks before the banquet, my sister started planning an impromptu trip to Wyoming to see our folks. We left, kids in tow, the night after the CCWM banquet. Her mom knew we were coming, but my dad didn’t have a clue. We showed up on their doorstep, in the dark, after hours and hours of driving with 4 kids and one newborn. The look on his face was worth the children fighting in the back seat and the baby crying in between. We immediately went to bed, ready for adventure the next day.
I was washing dishes the next morning, enjoying the mountain view. There was a house within view that had been for sale the last time we visited. “Did that property ever sell?” I asked my dad. It had. I wasn’t too disappointed. I knew that God a plan and it would all come together. Later that afternoon, after hiking and exploring Sinks Canyon, my dad and I were resting on bench chatting. “Yeah, so that property sold,” he said. ” Yeah, you mentioned that,” I responded. He looked at me and grinned while saying, “To us.” My jaw dropped. He explained they had only wanted the acreage and were planning to sell the house, so it would be available to us if we were interested.
I laid in bed that night and marveled at God. Not only was He answering prayers, but He was working out every single detail. He used that impromptu trip, that was planned before I had a clue what He was up to, and used it to confirm His will for us, and even to show me ministry opportunities in the community.
A home with a view.
Final Details
I arrived home ready for action. We HAD to sell our house for this to work. We decided to try and sell without a realtor, and to keep doing repairs while it was listed. We had several showings right away. They were all quick with almost no interest. I was a little discouraged after a few weeks of this, mostly because I was tired of panic-cleaning my home every few days. Try keeping a house show ready with six people in it, if you want to lose little pieces of your mind.
I prayed as I cleaned, preparing for yet another showing, when suddenly I became very overwhelmed with emotion. There was no audible voice, no bright lights, nothing crazy happened, but I knew right then and there this was it. The people coming that day were THE people. I told a couple of friends what I felt and to pray for our showing that day. The couple looked at our home for close to an hour and we had an offer the next evening. We close the end of August and will slowly begin the trek west while The Hubs finishes jobs he has lined up. God has absolutely blown our minds with the way He has worked our every detail of this next adventure.
Adventure begins!
Answered Prayers
“A man’s heart plans his course, but the Lord determines his steps.” Proverbs 16:9
Over the years, from the moment God first whispered “go” to us, we planned many things. We were sure God was calling us to be closer to our church, but that fell through. We thought He was calling us overseas, but nothing ever came of it. Maybe we’d follow our dear friends out of state and serve with them? These were all wonderful plans and dreams, but it wasn’t what God had in mind for us. Have you found yourself in a similar situation? Don’t give up! He is working in your waiting. He has a plan, an answer to your prayers. Maybe He won’t use a cupcake, but I believe when he speaks, you WILL know.
