It was a Saturday like any typical Saturday. We were out for a walk, Eli was napping in the ring sling, and we were chatting about whatever came to mind. I finally asked Brendan a question that had been on my mind since Eli was born… “Why do we live in Calgary?” The question stumped him for a minute or two, but then prompted a deep reevaluation of what priorities we had allowed to dictate the decisions in our lives.

The answer came down to one thing really… money. Although we had found great friends and church community, the truth was that we had settled in Calgary for the promise of high-paying careers and comfortability. Yes, you’re probably thinking that that sounds pretty normal. Because based on cultural norms, it really is. And based on those norms it seemed like we had everything figured out. It seemed like we had done everything right. Until we started to wonder if this wasn’t right for our family at all.

We began to consider our values and what we wanted for our growing family. We considered the fact that we had purchased a home that was bigger than what our family needed, requiring two salaries to pay the mortgage. We considered the possibility of putting Eli in daycare versus having a parent stay home with him. We considered the importance of raising our children with their extended family around. And most importantly, we considered what we felt God was calling us to.

We began to really consider the well-known verse:

“Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in an steal, but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.”

Matthew 6:19-21

For the first time, we wondered if we had placed the desires for career, money, and stability over our desire to serve God and advance His kingdom. 

So, after much prayer and discussion we settled on the decision to move back to Nelson. We felt like God was telling us that we had spent most of our adulthood putting our faith in ourselves, in our careers, in our house, and in our plans. It was time to really put our faith into practice and to learn to trust in Him. We began dreaming of seeing Nelson transformed, seeing family members come to Jesus, and truly investing in the community where we were raised. Although we didn’t know exactly what it would look like (and honestly, we still don’t), we knew that we were called to leave behind the comfortable life and to step into the unknown.

When we listed our house in a slowish market we were expecting to wait at least a couple of months before it sold. God had other plans, however, and our house sold above asking price within 24 hours. This was a reminder of the kind of God that we serve… one “who is able to do far more abundantly than all that we ask or think” (Ephesians 3:20).

Although it hasn’t been easy to step out in faith, we trust completely in the God that we serve and that He has great and amazing things in store for our family. We’ve only been in Nelson for a few weeks but we already have such a sense of peace that this was the right move for our family. All of this isn’t to say that we don’t believe in owning a home or having careers (we ain’t cray), or that we won’t someday be homeowners again, but that just for our family, in this season, it was important to evaluate our priorities and follow the Lord’s calling in our life. We just know that if He isn’t first, then we have everything else backwards.

Before we left Calgary we had some family photos done to be able to remember our time in Alberta. We had such a fun shoot with Sarah from Ezer Photography and we love how the pictures turned out! You can visit her website or Facebook to learn more about her Calgary-based photography business.