Ten years ago, if you’d asked me whether I could survive without my weekly trifecta of Target, Trader Joe’s, and Totally Pointless Shopping, I would have protested with a “No way!” and clutched my shopping cart tighter than ever.

But a lot has changed since then.

Ten years ago, we were immigrants in the US. By all accounts, we were living the American Dream. We had checked all the boxes.

House with a backyard, complete with a nice patio set and a grill for Pacific Northwest summer evenings. Check.

Minivan in the garage with shelves that corralled all the stuff from Costco that didn’t fit inside the house. Check.

Two kids enrolled in a minimum of three after-school activities. Check.

The hubs had worked 15 years in software (obviously). I volunteered at the kids’ elementary school and church, hosted playdates, and attended book club.

Life was good.

A year from then, we would likely have moved to a bigger house in a more upmarket neighborhood and traded our minivan for a classier SUV. That was the typical immigrant plan. That was our plan.

But then came the nudge. It wasn’t a shove. It wasn’t an elbow jab. But it wasn’t quite ignorable either.

The hubbers and I felt in our spirit that it was time to say goodbye to our home in the suburbs of Portland and move back to India.

For years before that, we were foreigners living in the US. We had checked the box that said, “Alien resident,” which made me feel like green antennae sprouted from my head. Now we were naturalized US citizens—but we planned to move back to India as foreigners (at least by citizenship).  What?!! It didn’t quite make logical sense. But it was a step of obedience.

On the face of it, we would trade our house for an apartment, our minivan for a sedan, clean roads for potholes with personality, and money for… well, less money.

But there’s more than “on the face of it,” isn’t there?

Some things run deeper.

In our ten years of living in India, we found that obedience often leads you out of your comfort zone into a place of purpose.

We discovered that home is where your family belongs. It’s never limited to a particular zip code. It’s a place where cereal is spilled and toys are strewn. It’s a place of fights and forgiveness, chaos and calm, tears and tests. And so we pray, “Jesus, be the center of our home.” Not of our house. But our home—that place of undeniable belonging.

We found that purpose doesn’t come from a job or even a vocation. It comes from glorifying God with the gifts He has given you right where you are. The hubs and I are living our best days here in India. We’re learning to look beyond ourselves. We’re learning to let go of self-reliance and we’re learning to lean on God.

Stepping out of the boat might mean stepping into turbulent waters and getting your chappals soaking wet. But it’s worth it. The tide may take you in a different direction than you had planned. But when the waters grow still, you’ll see that you’re part of a much bigger, richer, more vibrant, and meaningful story than the one you’d written for yourself.

If God is tugging at your heart today, maybe it’s time to take that plunge. It may not mean packing up your life and moving across the world. It may be at simple as walking across the street to speak to a grumpy neighbor. Just know that it’s not always going to “make sense.” But He will make something beautiful out of the bewildering.

Ten years after our big move, I’m happy to share that I’ve retired my green antennae as I no longer have to check the “alien” box on forms.

But jokes aside, there is blessing—to us and others—in obedience. May we trust and obey for there’s no other way to be happy in Jesus, but to trust and obey.

 

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