The God Who Goes YEARS Before You

Three times in my life, God set me up with a new lifelong friend before I realized what he was doing. Remembering these stories today reminds me that He is the God who goes before us, years before us, in ways we never saw coming.

On The Way Out of Town

I met Krystal when she was new to church and it was our last day in town. We connected and had lunch and packed up the truck and moved across the country. I found her to be peaceful and steady and fun! We stayed in touch through the years by phone and text and prayed together from time to time. Well, guess what? We are now soon to be neighbors again, 10 years later! It’s amazing how you can make a new lifelong friend in one day, even if it’s your last day somewhere. That’s because of the God who goes YEARS before us. He sees the long game when all we see is the end of our noses.

When Preschoolers Prophecy

When I went to college, I was only at that university for one year. During that time far from home, some of my most comforting memories are from when I spent time with my friend Morgan. She is an old soul, pure hearted, and kind like her mama. We met for chocolate cake at the Magnolia Café and went out for boba and thai. Her family welcomed me as their own on holidays when I couldn’t drive the 18 hours back to my folk’s.

After freshman year, she was able to come visit me in Colorado. We hiked some beautiful trails and mom cooked us some good home cookin’. While talking to mom, she asked Morgan, “Did your mom make dresses for you for church? By hand with the smocking?” I wish I had a picture of Morgan and my facial expressions when mom asked that question. Surprised she said, “Yes. How did you know that!? “ Mom asked a few more questions like where she went to church when she was little.

Turns out, our families 13 years prior, all went to the same church in Texas. We were in preschool class together and I would come home and tell my mom about “my friend Morgan.” Mom always says this with a lilt, mimicking the way I said it back then. 13 years later, “my friend Morgan” was sitting in her kitchen in Colorado! 13 years later, my mom still remembered how I would come home from Sunday school and tell her, “My friend Morgan, we’re going to go to college together.” From the mouth of babes, I was prophesying 13 years in advance about our college days. The amazing thing is that my mom remembered it all! For the glory of the God who goes YEARS before us.

Life-Saving, Life-Changing

My grandpa and his father-in-law met years before as well. They didn’t know it until grandma and grandpa had been married a few years. They were sitting at the table with great grandpa and great grandpa and telling stories. Grandpa started talking about how when he was younger, he worked some towers with an old man. How the old man almost fell off the scaffolding and my grandpa caught him. Great grandpa started asking questions. What year? What small town? Yep. Son, that was me. So my grandpa saved his future father in law’s life YEARS before he ever met his bride and married into the family. Boy, howdy. I need to call grandma and get all the details. It is an amazing story of the God who goes YEARS before us.

So Keep Your Hopes Up

And recently, we made new friends at our church in Colorado. Brenna is lots of fun and energy and faith! When our pastor introduced us and our girls last year, she remembered how we had first met a couple years before at the Military Spouse Tea with the Mayor. After we connected at the tea, she grabbed a copy of my book When Mountains Crumble and loved it, but we lost touch. Then here we are, two years later in the church lobby making new friends all over again. The God who goes YEARS before us sets things up when we’re not even looking.

I’m remembering these stories today to remind you that it’s possible you met someone 10 years ago who will be a lifelong friend or family member or future spouse…. And you just don’t know it yet. I keep hearing the lyrics to that worship song lately. “Maybe you just haven’t seen it yet.” Encounters that may seem small today, may prove to be seeds for a fruitful friendship in years to come. I share this today to keep hope.

The cool thing is that Brenna reminded me of how we met (the first time years before), and reminded me that God can and will do that again. The God who goes YEARS before us sets up divine encounters and divine friendships when we don’t even know to ask for them yet. So stay hopeful and encouraged. Whatever you are praying for and believing for and needing today, He saw it coming and had a provision and an answer in the works before you ever even knew to pray for it. In the same way, while we were still sinners, He sent Jesus to pay our ransom, YEARS before we knew we needed a Savior. Our God’s capable of more than we can fathom, ask or imagine, including His timeline as He goes YEARS before us to make a way where we didn’t even know we needed one yet.