“If I take the wings of the morning and dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea, even there your hand shall lead me, and your right hand shall hold me.” Psalm 139: 7-10 (NKJV)
How does a former New Yorker end up in West Texas? Unusual? Yes. Impossible? Not at all. The only explanation is the hand of God—the very same hand David describes above. Many of you have probably wondered how a “New York City girl” and “globe-trotter” came to a small Texas town. I get that question all the time. To be honest, I wasn’t excited about the dry heat or the lack of shade, but I was sure God had led me here. How? I’m glad you asked. To tell the full story, I need to go back about ten years ago to the same month this is being published.
While working in “the uttermost parts of the sea”, on a cruise ship, I had to attend a sail-away party. There, I heard a woman call to her grandson, “Boaz!” I had recently been reading the book of Ruth, so I made a beeline for her. As we talked, I learned she was traveling with her daughter, a golf pro who was teaching lessons onboard. I was thrilled to find out she was a believer. In that brief conversation, I shared that I was waiting for God to bring me my own “Boaz”—my future husband. She encouraged me that God had someone for me and said she would be praying. What I didn’t tell her was that just a month earlier, on June 24th to be exact, the Lord had spoken clearly to me about meeting my husband within six months.
I never exchanged contact information with the guest, so I assumed I would never see her again. Then that December—exactly six months after the Lord told me I would meet my husband—I had my first phone date with Shiloh! We were then married on that special date, June 24, 2018. He didn’t know anything about the significance of that date until our wedding ceremony when I was sharing my vows. To say he was surprised was an understatement!
But wait, it gets even better!
A few months into our marriage, I was at a doctor’s appointment in Plainview. When I mentioned my work at sea, the doctor lit up and said he knew someone whose daughter taught golf lessons on cruise ships. “Does she happen to have a grandson named Boaz?” I asked. “Yes—that’s the family!” he replied. When I asked where she lived, he said, “Here in Plainview.” Shiloh and I stared at each other, jaws dropped and minds blown. The doctor gave me her phone number, and of course I called her. Imagine her surprise when I told her I was not only married, but also living in her hometown! The hand of God ladies!
So, was that the end of the story? Not even close. You may wonder what God has been doing since I left behind my life of travel and adventure. Well, He had another big adventure planned, and it was just around the corner. Following God to a new place came easily for me, putting down roots in one place did not. It can be harder to trust the promise that “even there your hand will guide me” when life begins to feel more like Groundhog Day.
Just because God’s call was from a place of beauty to a place that was dry and remote didn’t mean it was out of His presence or plan. The truth is ladies, that when God called me here, it wasn’t just to a place, but to a person. A man of God whom I have built a life with. We are now raising two beautiful children who now adorn our home like precious jewels. Our lives are not perfect, but God’s hand is with us always leading, guiding, protecting and sustaining us to the uttermost. Instead of waking up in a new country on a new continent, I wake up to a house that needs cleaning and children who need to be fed. As I write, magnet tiles cover the floor around my feet, unfinished crafts are scattered across the table, the dishwasher needs to be unloaded, and the laundry still needs to be put away.
Another version of Psalm 139:5 says it like this, “you lay your hand upon me, such knowledge is too wonderful for me, too lofty for me to attain. Where can I go from your spirit? Where can I flee from your presence? If I go up to the heavens, you are there. If I make my bed in the depths, you are there. If I rise on the wings of the dawn, if I settle on the far side of the sea, even there your hand will guide me. Your right hand will hold me fast.” Psalm 139 :5-10 (NIV)
If I truly believe that “even there” His hand will guide and hold me, then I can trust Him in the details of everyday life. As Corrie Ten Boom said, “His past faithfulness demands our present trust.” I can trust His hand to guide and hold me even when my two-year-old throws a tantrum I cannot calm, or when my daughter cannot find her glasses and we are already late for school. Psalm 139 reminds me that God’s hand guides me “even there”. I often think His guidance is only for life’s big, dramatic moments, not the ordinary, everyday ones. But from the extraordinary to the ordinary, His hand leads just as faithfully and will continue to do so until I see him face to face.
“For I am the Lord your God who takes hold of your right hand and says to you,
Do not fear; I will help you.” Isaiah 41:13(NLT)
“So do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.” Isaiah 41:10 (NIV)
“I will guide you along the best pathway for your life. I will advise you and watch over you.” Psalm 32:8 (NLT)
We would like to thank Julie Posey for writing this post.
Women's Ministry 