There's a New Rose in My Garden

No. I am not pregnant.

Scott started his new job last week. He spent the first week away in Missouri at training. And now he is almost done with his second week.

The thing is, he now works from home.

This transplanting of my husband from his out-of-the-house office to his in-our-house office has been an adjustment for both of us. To say the least it has been an adjustment. One to which we are still adjusting.

Monday was a crazy day because I had to run him to Mandan to get his new work van. Being that it's been stored outside for three months, it was buried in several feet of snow. We were told to to come back when they'd released it from its snow trap. The day was all chopped up, but we rolled with it.

Tuesday he began conducting inventory of his van. Most of the inventory ended up on my dining room table. I'm a "place for everything and everything in its place" kind of gal, so this put me off-kilter despite his warnings that he'd made a mess in the house when I got home from story time with Gracey.

Wednesday he had to go to one of the branches he services for part of the day and did so after clearing out my dining room. I was grateful to him for doing so.

Today we have managed to stay out from under each other's feet, so I think we're finding our stride.

Now if only he'd remember this new office building of his does not come equipped with a separate men's room, so it would be much appreciated if he'd put the seat down when he's done. :)

Saul: From Donkey to Crown

1 Samuel 9-10 tell the story of Saul, a Benjaminite man who "stood a head above the rest" of Israel, who at the time, was crying out for a king so they could be like other nations. 1 Samuel 9 dawns with Saul being sent out to look for his father's lost donkeys. But when he doesn't find them, he and his servant set out to find the prophet Samuel so they might be told where to go next. God has already told Samuel that He will show him who the king of Israel will be and when Samuel sees Saul, God says, "This is the man I told you about." By the end of chapter 10, Saul has been crowned king.

Within 2 short chapters of the Old Testament, this young man goes from searching for lost donkeys to becoming king of Israel. Talk about a career change. Talk about a major transplanting.

When Saul set out that day to search for the donkeys he had no idea he would end up king. His story is not unlike that of Moses, Joseph or David. All are physical transplants, being moved from one place to another, from one purpose to another, from one occupation to another. And none of the ever suspect it until God acts.

The moral of this transplant story: Sometimes God surprises us with a crown when we were looking for lost livestock.

P.S. Does anyone think it's a coincidence that hundreds of years later the King of Kings chooses a donkey to ride into Jerusalem? I don't.

Transplants

How did I get here? It's a question we ask many times whether it's about our home, job, marriage, financial status or even some sort of mess. How did I get here, God? I've asked it of myself again and again.

During the long(er) winters of North Dakota, I ask myself this question even more. And sometimes I chuckle. If I, through some sort of time-travel device, go back and tell my younger self that I would one day be a stay-at-home mom who sells Avon and lives in rural Bismarck, I would have certainly questioned my own sanity. Surely I always planned on getting married, having kids and doing something I loved. But Avon was for old ladies and North Dakota was farmland in the middle of the country where my grandparents' funny-talking relatives lived.

The road between that Kristy and this Kristy has been a long one. But to answer the question, "How did I get here?" I will say this: God transplanted me.

Sometimes God transplants us in order to accomplish the work He has set forth for us to do. By doing this, He draws us closer to Him and, through us, brings glory to Himself. And, if we were not transplanted, or somehow resist the transplanting, perhaps we'd miss out on bringing Him glory the way He intended? Maybe we would never accomplish the work He set forth?

The Bible is full of transplants. A few notable transplants to think about:

• Jesus: He left heaven, came to earth as a man to sacrifice Himself so we could all be saved.
• Disciples: They left their homes, jobs and families to follow Jesus.
• Moses: Set into the Nile in a basket, he ended up in Pharoah's household and then fled Egypt only to return to set the Hebrews free.
• Hebrews/Israelites: If you read the Pentateuch (the first 5 books of the Bible), you will see that this group of people were transplanted time after time, most obviously into Egypt, then out of Egypt then into the desert and finally into the Promised Land.

Transplants and transplanting has been rolling around in my head for five years, ever since we left the only home we ever knew and came to Bismarck. I know that God transplants all of us, to varying degrees. Do you want to know more? Can you think of other transplants in the Bible? What's your transplant story?