When my husband and I decided to move from Austin to Collin County (suburb just north of Dallas, TX), our hearts were set on living in Plano, the city where our eldest daughter lived.
The decision to move was easy. I had been terribly allergic to Mountain Juniper. It is one of those things that are an incredibly high allergen, even referred to as toxic. During the seven years we lived in Austin, once diagnosed, I had to stay at home, indoors, from November through March each year. If I ventured outside, I would wear a mask and cover my eyes and ears until we were out of the nature preserve area we lived in near Lake Travis.
My allergy meant we would move eventually but I was content to stay home. Even when I tore my hamstring laterally (an injury that may never heal) and had problems getting up and down the stairs to our bedroom, I was content. It was when my husband started developing hives all over (and he is diabetic) that we knew we had to move and soon. In addition to that, a further incentive arose when my elder daughter told us that she and her husband were eager to start a family. Then, our younger daughter (who lives in Austin), informed us that she was getting married. It seemed like the path was open for us to move.
Well, except that we could not find a house! We were able to sell our house quickly and the new owners needed to get into it as soon as possible (they had triplets and really needed the larger space the house would provide.) So, we ended up staying in the apartment we had rented in Austin (we wanted to keep the cats safe while the house was being shown and provide a workplace for my husband who works from home and we had thought it would take weeks or even months our house to sell.)
Turns out that finding a house in Collin County was not going to be easy. I spent weeks with a realtor, looking at more than 70 houses we would happily have purchased (but they all ended up being sold just ahead of our quickly provided offer.) The realtor was beginning to really dislike taking me out as it seemed to be a doomed enterprise.
While we were venturing to and fro around Plano, I kept seeing a church that really spoke to my spirit. As we passed it, yet again, one day, I asked the realtor if we could look in the neighborhood we were in. She told me that I wouldn’t like it.
I was puzzled by her response as I didn’t feel she knew me well enough to make such a statement. Then I recalled a conversation we had had about a local builder who had done such a poor job on building their houses that many of the owners were suing them. I figured that was what she meant and put the thoughts of both the neighborhood and the church out of my mind.
I was determined to be very involved with the church we ended up at after this move and, for some reason, that equaled living close by in my mind. I don’t know why because I had never lived close to a church I had attended in the past.
We ended up buying a larger house than I had envisioned which was located in a city next to Plano rather than in Plano itself. Still, I missed the thought of that church and asked my daughter what was wrong with the neighborhood there. She told me not a thing. It was just a little older and a little less expensive. That made sense as our realtor wasn’t too pleased with our final choice (which my daughter had located) as it was considerably less expensive than the houses she had been showing us. Still, over the years since, when we passed by the church in Plano, I would still feel the same longing and the pull of my heart.
However, as I thought we had to live close to our new church, I started looking for other churches and found one almost on our doorstep. Each time we would pass that church, I would suggest to my husband that we start attending it. He would agree but we never got around to it. It was like we had amnesia every Sunday morning. This went on for five years! We were essentially unchurched except for the programs we watched on TV.
My daughter switched churches the year I became ill. She invited us to try her new church as she thought we would enjoy it. We agreed and planned to visit but, unfortunately, two surgeries in a row got in the way of my leaving the house. Then I started having episodes of vertigo and became more than a little afraid of leaving the house on the chance I would have one while out.
Then, out of the blue, I was hospitalized with severe pneumonia and low oxygen readings. As I began to recover a bit, a real regret that I had was that I had not attended my daughter’s church with our grandchildren. I told her so and she informed me that her church had live streaming of their Sunday services. I asked her to send my husband a link and we would watch.
When my husband brought the link up on our Apple TV, I about fell out of my chair. I told him excitedly, “That’s the church I wanted to go to. The one in Plano!” He had no idea what I was talking about. I tried reminding him about the church that had drawn at my heart. It took a ten minute discussion to discover that I had never told him about this church. I had only mentioned the church that was close by. That week we watched our first service and have been faithful attendees ever since.
As I write this, we have yet to physically attend a service at Chase Oaks Church (due to my current need to avoid viruses, etc. while the country struggles through the horrible ‘flu season of 2017-2018.) Even so, we feel as if we are members already. Their live online ministry allows us to be a part of the service as if we were there.
The church’s online outreach is growing as I write this post. My husband and I already know that we have a heart for this area of the church. I think of people like me, who temporarily can’t attend for whatever reason, those who can’t leave their homes at all, those who live too far away to attend, and especially those who live in countries and areas where being a Christian or attending a service could mean jail time or even a death sentence.
If you are interested in hearing the Word spoken through this group of pastors, here is the link to the Live portion of their website:
Here is their sermon archive:
Here is their website which links to explanations of their core beliefs and outreach services:
There are times in my life when I have known beyond a doubt that God has led me to a certain point and place. This is one of those times. For whatever reason He has for my husband and I to be there, we know that God has led us to this the church. From the first sermon, each message seems to have written specifically for us at exactly this point in our lives.
While my desire to be at this church had been in my mind all along, it took a major, life-changing event to bring me to attending it. If I had not become so ill, who knows if I would ever have gone on my own? A lesson learned here is to listen to God when He speaks to your heart and go to the path He has placed ahead of you.
Isaiah 48:17 This is what the LORD says — your Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel: “I am the LORD your God, who teaches you what is best for you, who directs you in the way you should go.”