Not nice, but better.
My husband and I made the move from Texas to Massachusetts just over 2 years ago. We had a great life in Texas and many reasons to stay where we lived including family, friends, and a wonderful church. Most significantly, it’s where the Lord saved us and brought us into greater maturity of godliness and love for his people. In God’s providence, in 2018 we learned of a new effort within our church to plant a gospel proclaiming church in New Bedford, MA. We began to pray with a small circle of believers for New England in general and the church in New Bedford.
Sensing a prompting towards more, we took a weekend trip to explore what life would be like in New Bedford. As we began to seriously consider the decision to move, two main concerns kept creeping into my mind and heart. First, I began dreading all that we would leave behind in relationships, most of which we had spent considerable time investing in and nourishing. The second was leaving behind the very manicured aesthetic of North Texas. I know this sounds silly, but picture this juxtaposition. If you’ve been to the Dallas/Fort Worth metroplex, you know exactly what I’m talking about. Massive, brand new shopping centers pop up seemingly overnight, with a plethora of trendy restaurants and stores to choose from. Convenience is literally built into every square mile of the metroplex. Since there is so much new construction, everything is well maintained, well landscaped, and well….it’s just so pretty. Contrast this with small homes built in the 1800’s, squished together without yards on narrow streets built for horses, not cars. Our neighborhoods filled with old abandoned buildings and the ones still running, showing major signs of disrepair.
I wont lie and say this didn’t bother me. What silly things to admit were such burdens on my heart during those months of praying and preparing to move, but nevertheless, these were our hurdles.
Still, some changes in our life were more significant than these. We would move from a neighborhood with its own playground and walking trail to the inner city across the street from gang violence. There’s still a playground in our neighborhood, but one sprinkled with liquor bottles. The cars fly down the narrow streets with little thought to side mirrors, small children, or peace and quiet. There are often people screaming at each other in the streets with loud profanity, and obvious drug use (legal and illegal).
Every time we leave after a visit to Texas my husband and I say goodbye to all of the “nice“. Goodbye nice new landscaping, goodbye brand new brick buildings, goodbye smooth roads and wealthy suburban middle class lifestyle. Goodbye “safety.” We have said over and over that our life might not be “nicer” in New Bedford, but it’s so much BETTER.
Put simply, there have been fewer distractions and barriers to living in simple obedience to Jesus and his commands. We left behind a large Christian community and forged a new, smaller one in New Bedford. In our new community, the stakes can be higher. There is no easy “fix” for losing a friend here - it’s not something to be taken for granted. We have been humbled on many occasions. We have come to see sin in our lives, while not ignored before, in God’s mercy, has become more urgent to us and begun to be addressed. We have had to apologize, own our shortcomings, ask for help, obtain counsel, and deal with our own weaknesses as a couple, as friends, and as parents. Our love for Jesus’ church has grown as we have welcomed and cared for believers who have gone without the church altogether. We see the effects of sin in the world a bit more clearly here. Our encounters with the mentally ill and addicted could be kept at arms length before - not anymore. We have had situations where a level of confrontation was needed, and by God’s grace, he strengthened and protected us. In a strange way, these experiences have given us more sober minds and a continued awareness of the spiritual battle between “the domain of darkness” and the “Kingdom of His Beloved Son.” We have also experienced a deeper dependency on prayer and the Scriptures, as you can imagine.
After 2 years, we are more convinced than ever that this lifestyle is better for our souls and spiritual good. Safety kept us safe but stagnant; risk and obedience gave us Christ-dependent living.
Our country has an urgent need for churches that will teach sound doctrine, and nowhere else is this more deeply felt that in the Northeast. Christian after Christian in this part of the country has been tempted or fallen prey to distorted thinking and living in a way that is not good for their souls or honoring to the Lord, the root of which can be traced to not being able to find a stable, Christ-honoring, Word-driven church. Because though many have tried to find one, churches who stay true to the word of God simply are few and far between in this area. This has left believers wandering without a community, discouraged and isolated in their faith, and confused on how to live according to the Bible.
Our initial move was a difficult transition for me. Two years in, I rejoice and rest in the reality that our family truly did exchange nice for better, and God knew exactly what He was doing when He moved us. It is not easy, and daily we are faced with our own fleshly desires. But what I want you to hear is that the exchange has been well worth the sacrifice.
If you are considering joining us, or making a move to be a part of missions or church planting, I encourage you to be open handed with what the “good life” really means to you. The “good life” is relative to what you value. It’s not necessarily having everything you want or thought you wanted. There are many considerations to such a move and isn’t to be taken lightly. And yet you may discover that God may just use the transition to transform your heart, your values, and draw you closer to Him in the process.