I Am Rahab…The Mover
By J. ALSTON
Excerpt from book 2

When the Williams family moved from their home on Charlotte Street, Lydia thought she would die. The move was so sudden and abrupt. There was barely time to think, let alone react. One moment they were celebrating Rahab’s graduation and birthday, the next they were moving. Suddenly, for Lydia, there was no friend to ride home with from school. There was no one to take her side when the world condemned her. No friend to share life with and no place to hide from her stepfather.

Twenty years ago, I decided to relocate to North Carolina after the death of too many family members, friends, young people, and personal family pain and hostility from my job. I thought about it hard and long; it was not an easy choice; however, I knew it was time. I believe God will make you uncomfortable when it’s time to move. I also thought about my friends and my son’s friends, a family that I would be 600 miles away from. My best friends were there when trouble knocked at my door and the heartache and pain at the entrance to my heart again and again.

My sisterhood friends were there for me, as were my brotherhood friends; we cried together, we laughed together, we took long drives, and we worshiped together. Say the word cookout, and at the drop of a hat, the crew was there loaded with enough food and supplies for several more cookouts to follow. I once hosted a Ladies and Children sleepover. We woke up the next morning and cooked breakfast on the grill. The fellows joined us for the remainder of the day and evening. Those friends take tears and years to build. Yes, I thought about it, prayed about, and though I would miss them, I missed the peace in me more.

My male best friend had been diagnosed with kidney cancer and did his best to convince me to stay. I knew what he was going through; I was as well; he was so much like my older brother that passed three years before I decided to move. But the truth be told I had said enough goodbyes to friends gone on. One thing about death and hard times, you can change your address, but they can find you.

I had several people give me a word out of the blue with no knowledge of my intention to relocate, my uncle even called, I had not talked to him in years. After I informed him of my plans, he said, “Janice, you’re doing the right thing, but get prayed up because all hell is going to break loose.” And he was right. Like the Williams’, you can move and move, but what is coming is coming. The good, the bad, the bitter and the sweet. But can I tell you this? Trouble don’t last always. It will make you or break you. I was broken, blessed, and remade.

My moves in NC were challenging; however, I was never homeless, hungry, or without. I went through the fire, survived the lion’s den, and had many a midnight hour. But Praise God I grew. I understand the plan now; I had to learn, not to lean to my own understanding. I came to realize that the journey and the path were ordained. It wasn’t easy, but it was worth it for me to become the woman God called me to be.

The pain was the growing process; just as Rahab and Lydia grew through their many trials and moves, everything is for an appointed time.

I made new friends, not like twenty years ago, but a few good friends.

I moved again two years ago, God had a plan I didn’t understand, and I won’t complain because I’m on the right path, and just when it looked bleak, God showed up once again and showed out. I have learned to trust God in all my trials and tribulations, and when he tells me to move, I move just like that…because I am Rahab, too.