The Minschwaners are Moving!

That’s right! If you’ve been sitting on pins and needles waiting to hear what our big decision was all about (sorry for that), we are moving! Honestly I wanted to share more about it with you all much sooner, but we had a lot of praying and waiting to do.

As you probably know, Dale was laid off from his job back in December of 2020, thanks to the oil and gas recession and of course, COVID. Dale is a mechanical engineer with a Masters Degree in Business Administration and it took over 10 months of job searching to land this opportunity.

I never ever thought I’d be moving away from Tulsa. We thought surely something would come up in Tulsa if we were patient enough. Dale is qualified, he’s intelligent, and he’s a hard worker who’s always had great reviews from his bosses. I lost count of how many times he applied and interviewed for positions here, and none of them worked out for what seemed like no reason at all.

Are We Doing the Right Thing?

We both started questioning if we were doing the right thing. We considered pursuing other avenues of working for ourselves or creating new businesses, and nothing ever felt quite right. I’ve had my social media business since October of last year and my blog was picking up. And while I was doing really well, I still had business expenses, employees to pay, and I wasn’t able to totally provide for our family. We remodeled a camper with the intent to rent it out, or possibly sell it and do another one. Dale even recently started working at a brewery to help make ends meet. Everything this year has been so unsettled.

Through months of prayer, and frankly, feeling like our family was under enemy attack, we were in true survival mode. I knew that God was refining us for something. I knew we were to be patient and wait for the Lord to direct us. But when you’re starting to see your bank account get smaller and smaller, and you’re trying to provide for a 3-year-old and pay bills, it gets really hard to wait and trust. For a long time I felt like we were in a slow-sinking boat and trying to scoop the water out with a spoon.

Our Family Struggles…

Let me give you a little context as to what else we’ve been struggling with this year. I don’t share a lot of this usually but I think it’s important here to share our whole story so God can be glorified.

One major thing that has been going on for many years, is that my dad struggles with alcohol. It’s a family struggle because his disease affects everyone. I don’t like using the word “alcoholic” tp describe him or anyone who struggles with alcohol because I feel that’s a label and that’s not his identity. I’ll get into this more later, but it’s a very, very emotional and traumatic thing to have a parent, who you grew up admiring and trusting, struggle with addiction. You start grieving the person you once knew and you feel like it’s never going to end. We’re still battling this and it’s an emotional weight I carry daily.

Another thing we’ve struggled with, was separating from our church last year. We had been very involved at our church through the years. I sang every Sunday to help lead worship. Dale was the president of the congregation. We were involved in several ministry groups. Through a lot of really disappointing events, we decided that our church was no longer a good fit for us. This was all right before Dale lost his job, and when you lose a church family, facing life’s obstacles is a whole lot harder.

We also planned to have a baby this year. When we found out Dale lost his job, we put trying for another family member on hold. That’s been incredibly hard too, but we were trying our best to trust God’s timing.

On top of both of these things, I’ve been running my small business from home. We lost our health insurance. Dean transferred to his big boy room, got potty trained, and started school for the first time. My sister who lives far from home had a baby. And God’s made me aware that I need support to deal with what I now know is anxiety. My friends have also been through a lot this year and my heart has been hurting for them. And then you know… there’s a pandemic going on. 2020 and 2021 have been… a LOT.

I don’t mean to sound like I’m saying “feel sorry for us” at ALL. Everyone has struggles and faces really hard things. I’m sharing this because it’s part of our family’s testimony to glorify God. That’s been hard for me this year and now I’m seeing that every little loss or struggle was so that we could glorify Him now. God was allowing us to be stripped of a LOT, so that we would sort of be forced to wait and listen for His direction. And I hope that maybe our story will help some of you who feel hopeless.

Prayers Answered

In August, Dale was contacted by a company based in Houston for a job just outside of Kansas City, Missouri. We planned to go up for two days as a family. He could go to his interview and we could go to the zoo and the Royals game while we were there. Coincidentally, a friend of his contacted him about another job outside of Kansas City and so Dale ended up having two interviews in one trip. He was offered both positions. One of the offers was a considerable promotion compared to what he was doing before here in Tulsa.

God closed SO MANY doors for us in Tulsa to open two doors in Kansas City in the same week. We felt that His plan for our family was made very clear to us. A prayer I’d prayed over and over, answered.

I won’t lie and say we smiled and said, “we’re moving!” as soon as He presented us with these open doors. Our initial reaction was to shut the doors on our own. I dug in my heels. We almost said no. We didn’t want to move. We still don’t really want to move. We have family and friends here – a real support system. And we have pretty much no one in Kansas City.

Following God’s Plan Isn’t Always Joyful

It took a lot of tears and discussions between Dale and I to come to the decision to move. Just because God’s plan is clear doesn’t mean it’s totally joyful. This is going to be hard for us. But we’ve been able to see the many seeds God has planted to help us go to Kansas City. And the only way to be joyful through such a huge transition is to be grateful for the blessings God provides.

We’re moving to a town my best friend used to live in, so she’s been helping us learn more about the area. We also met a couple at a wedding this weekend from Kansas City who actually want to be our friends when we move (ha!). And Dale’s company is taking care of all of the moving details to make the transition easier. We’ve seen God’s hand in the details and I have no doubt that’s going to continue.

Following God’s plan isn’t always totally joyful. But when you can see it SO clearly laid out and designed specifically for you, it’s easier to take a step back and say, “I’ll go where You send me.” We’re so thankful that God who has our future planned for us, and all we need to do is obey.

God’s Plan is for Good

This doesn’t settle everything that has been going on with our family, but we know God is sending to Kansas City for a purpose. Maybe it’s for Dale and I to focus on leaning on each other. Maybe it’s so we can grow our family. Maybe it’s so He can create space to work in other peoples’ lives. I’m not sure but I know God’s plan is always for the good of those who love Him.

If you’re feeling lost or confused by what God’s plan is for you, just know that I’ve been there. A lot. And not just this year. I’ve felt that hopeless feeling. I’ve lacked trust (and sometimes still doubt). I’ve tried to take things into my own hands. I’ve dug in my heels and tried to change course. But nothing gives peace and hope like surrendering and obeying God’s will.

Kansas City Here We Come!

We don’t know exactly how long we’ll stay in Kansas City. We love our home and our town and we’re really deeply sad about leaving. But we just know this next step is a LOT of prayers answered. We may decide we love it and want to stay forever, or God may take us somewhere else. But we’re excited for a new adventure in a new city. And I’m really excited to have friends and family come to visit and stay with us.

We’re looking forward to sharing our new adventure with you all here on caitminschy.com including finding and decorating a new home. And of course I’ll be sure to share a lot on Instagram. I truly feel so loved and supported by all of you who have prayed and sent kind messages supporting our family, and I intend to honor our relationships we’ve formed! We also plan to drive back to Tulsa a LOT – hopefully once every month or so. So you’ll still get lots of Tulsa love from me. And, if you have any Kansas City recommendations, send me a DM because I’m going to need them!

Thank you so much for being here, for reading our story, and loving my family.

xo,

Cait