When God Moves You – Trusting the Shift After Loss - S3/E27

Grief changes us in profound ways, sometimes shrinking our world to the size of a bedroom. After losing my husband and spending three years mostly confined to the room we once shared in our home of 34 years, I faced a divine disruption. God began moving me—not just physically from Indiana to South Carolina, but out of emotional stagnation and into a new season of purpose.

The memories of three decades filled every corner of that house. It wasn't just walls and windows; it was the physical container of a shared life with someone I deeply loved. When he passed away, something in me settled into that space, unwilling or unable to imagine life beyond it. My world became smaller, more contained, and in many ways, safer in its predictability.

But God doesn't leave us in wilderness places forever. "Behold, I will do a new thing," He promises in Isaiah 43:19, "I will even make a road in the wilderness and rivers in the desert." Sometimes healing requires movement—geographical, emotional, spiritual—even when standing still feels safer. When God began stirring my heart to leave, I realized staying would mean resisting His gentle but persistent nudge toward something new.

Trust becomes our lifeline when understanding fails us. "Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding," Proverbs 3:5-6 reminds us. I didn't understand why leaving was necessary. I couldn't comprehend how I would function away from the place that held so much of my history. But trust isn't about understanding—it's about following the One who holds everything, even when the path ahead seems unclear.

If you're walking through grief or major life transitions, remember that God sees you. He hasn't forgotten you, and He's calling you forward not to abandon you but to lead you into something new. He is still writing your story. Will you trust Him with the next chapter?

Chapters

• 0:00 Introduction to Life Changes
• 1:13 Living in the House of Memories
• 2:32 God's Plan for Moving Forward
• 3:46 Making Roads in the Wilderness
• 4:53 Learning to Trust Again
• 7:23 Walking in Faith and New Beginnings
• 9:30 God Is Not Done With You

Transcript

Speaker 1: 0:14

Hi, things are going to be a little different than what they have been. I have been sick, I've moved from Indiana, I've moved to South Carolina. I have been sick over and over and things are still working on me. But I'm back and I want to talk about something. This time we are going to talk about how you're different sometimes when life is changing for you. Today's episode is kind of personal. I want to talk about what it means when God moves you, not just in geography, but emotionally, spiritually, even after the census, deep grief.

Speaker 1: 1:02

I lived in the home for 34 years. 31 of these were years where I was with my husband, a man and I deeply loved, and we built a life together in that peace. It was more than a house, it was our home. Our memories were in every room and we just loved it. We spent so much time together and I felt like we would be there forever. But I had to worry about the fact that he was older than me and I was going to lose him. I lived in the house for 34 years. 31 of those years were with my husband, a man I deeply loved, and we built our life together in that place. It was more than a house. It was our home, our memories, where every room and every corner of the house was taken over. But then again he got sick and I spent a lot of time with him and then he went away away. I no longer had anything to do with the balance of the house After I lost him. I just kind of lost a lot of things, never lost God. He was always there with me, but I did kind of keep quiet. He passed away and I spent the next three years alone. My family would come and see me, but basically in the house it was just me. Now, right the last year that I was there, my grandkids did move in and all of a sudden things started changing and I realized that God didn't want me there any longer. Things started changing and I realized that God didn't want me there any longer. He wanted me to get up and go out and spend more time with Him and quit leaning on just myself in a house. I spent the next three years alone, mostly in my bedroom, grief, trying to heal, sometimes just trying to get through the day. That house, once filled with love and laughter, became quiet and for a long time I didn't know if I would ever leave it, physically or emotionally. But you know what? That's not what God wanted in my life. He did something I didn't expect. He began to move me out of the house yes, he also out of the place of being stuck in the past. I wanted to talk about why God moves us from places we've held on and how we follow him even when we're unsure of what the path is. God moved me to heal and fulfilled his purpose. The scripture says for I know the thoughts that I think towards you, says the Lord, thoughts of peace and not of evil, to give you a future and a hope. And that was in Jeremiah 29, 11. When you lose someone you love deeply, you start changing. It's easy to believe that your best days are behind you, but you know what God reminds us? That still his thoughts are towards us, thoughts of peace. He's not finished, even not long. He's still planning a future and a hope. I couldn't see that at first, but looking back, I realized that God wasn't just asking me to leave the house. He was leading me towards healing. He was moving me towards a new purpose. God moved me to do a new work in my life, and Isaiah 43, 19 says Behold, I will do a new thing Now. It shall be forth. Shall you not know it, I will even make a road in the wilderness and rivers in the desert. You not know it, I will even make a road in the wilderness and rivers in the desert. For three years my world shrank to my bedroom. It became a sort of a wilderness no-transcript. I ended up staying in my bedroom. I didn't cook. I mostly ate out. I would go to the bathroom and do things, but I didn't. I couldn't see that at first. By looking back, I realized that God wasn't just asking me to leave a house. He was leading me towards healing. He was moving me towards a different purpose. The scripture of Isaiah 43, 19 says Behold, I will do a new thing Now. It shall spring forth. Shall you not know it, I will even make a road in the wilderness and rivers in the desert. That's Isaiah 43, 19. You know, I lived in that house most of the time. I spent my time just being kind of wilderness. I stayed in the room, I didn't do anything and I just stayed there with God. And there were times when I would go to a friend's house. There were times people would come and see me, but I just found my time to spend there in my room where me and my husband spent time. So for three years my world shrank to my bedroom. It became a sort of wilderness. But God didn't leave us in the wilderness forever. He makes roads there, he brings rivers to dry places and he says I'm doing a new thing. Can you see it? You know, maybe sometimes you are lost, you've lost someone, maybe you've lost a part of yourself in the process. But I promise God is still the God of new things. He is restoring me and he can restore you. God moved me so I would learn to trust in Him again, and I've always trusted in Him. But my trust in Him was He'll take care of me where I am. Well, that wasn't really what he was saying. He was going to take care of me where he sends me. Proverbs 3, 5 through 6 says Trust in the Lord with all of your heart and lean not to your own understanding. In all your ways, acknowledge him and he shall direct your path. I don't understand why he called me out of the home. I had known. I had been in that home for 34 years. That was my home and I did not want to leave that home. But you know, when God got to the point where this wasn't where he wanted me, I started not wanting to be in that home. I knew that I was moving away. I knew God was sending me somewhere and I just had to walk right along whatever it was God was giving me and there's a lot of things. I know that through all of this, I've had sick days and Satan has come and tried to push me and I had to fight with Satan. But I know that God had things for me for my life. I know he is the one that's leading me to be the type of person that God wants me to be. I don't understand why he was calling me out of the home I had. I don't understand how I could move forward with such a place in my heart still grieving. But I chose to trust him and when we trust him, sometimes it directs each of our steps. You don't have to understand everything, just trust the one who holds everything, and that is God. Do you know what do I need to do to follow him? I need to stay in his word. I need to let the light in your next step. Psalms 119, 105,. It says your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my past. When you are stepping out of a season of pain, you don't rush to figure everything out. Let God's word guide you. It may not light up the whole highway, but it will always give you enough light for the next step. Seek him with an open heart. Seek the Lord in his strength, seek his face evermore, and that's 1 Chronicles 16, 11. During the three years, my prayers were sometimes just whispers, tears, silence. But I kept seeking him and in time he answered me. He spoke comfort, then he directed, and now he's opening new doors. Keep seeking, even if you don't know what it's going to say. Walk in obedience even when it's hard. Isaiah 119 says if you are willing and obedient, you shall eat the good of the land. Leaving the house meant letting go of what it once was. I meant trusting God enough to believe that there was good ahead, and there is. If he asks you to let go, it's not to take it from you. It's to lead you into something that you didn't know you were supposed to receive until now. Be strong and courageous, not alone. And Joshua 1.19 says have I not commanded you? Be strong and of good courage, do not be afraid nor be dismayed, for the Lord, your God, is with you wherever you go, even if you're starting all over, which I feel like I am. I lived in a house for 34 years. I'm now living with my son and his wife and my grandkids. It's all totally new and different and I'm just taking a step at a time to see what God is leading me and what we're going to do, and to let you know here I'm looking for a church, I'm looking for what I need to do. I want to still be whatever it is that God wants me to be and to do whatever it is that God wants me to do. Even if you're starting over, even if you're walking alone, you're not really alone. God is with you wherever you go, and that includes painful, uncertain healing and joyful steps ahead. Painful, uncertain healing and joyful steps ahead. You know, if you've lost and you love someone and if you spend a season stuck in sorrow and if you've been afraid to let go of the past. Just listen to what I have to say. God sees you, he hasn't forgotten you and he's calling you out, not to abandon you but to lead you into something new. He is still writing your story, trust him, follow him and know that healing is holy ground and he walks with you. He's done the same thing with me and I am still just walking in such a small step because I don't know what's going on. I'm not really sure what he has for me, but I know this is where he sent me and that he will lead me to where he wants me to be and that he will lead me to where he wants me to be. You know, if this spoke to your heart, I'd love for you to share it with someone else who might be thinking or might be walking through the lost or the transition. If you're in that place, don't give up, god. God is not done. You know this has been a crazy, crazy time for me and I know that you guys missed me for two weeks and it got kind of quiet and I hope you open up to this podcast and I hope that you see that I've been doing on Tuesdays and I want you to listen to the podcast that I'm doing for Sunday mornings. I love you all. God loves you all. Pray for each other, pray for me. If there's anything you need, just let me know and thank you.