It was a warm summer evening in Norfolk, Virginia.  The soft buzzing sounds in the air told me that several flies had made their way into the house and were driving Rachel and Nimitz crazy.  “Come on Nims, get him!” Rachel chanted as Nimitz jumped and snapped his jaw at one of the little buggers.  I never really participate in these fly-murder sessions. I was raised in true California style, and was taught that if I wanted a fly to leave, all I had to do was ask it nicely.  And if that didn’t work, then the two of us had to learn to coexist.  Rachel on the other hand, received no such upbringing.

Aside from the inordinate amount of flies in the house, there was nothing notable about that night.  But little did Rachel and I know, that the next day our future would look completely different.

We were in the midst of planning a move to Dallas, Texas. A few months earlier we decided that Dallas would be a great place to launch the new side of our business, facilitating corporate retreats. Dallas has a burgeoning economy with a ton of young entrepreneurs just like us, but most importantly: Texans aren’t afraid of a little God in their business. And that’s what makes us different, we believe that God isn’t something to be compartmentalized on Sunday mornings. He permeates our personal and professional lives (He made them after all!), and we’re better off when we include Him in the process.

Moving to Dallas made personal, professional and spiritual sense; and both Rachel and I had lived in Texas in the past, so it was an easy choice. All of the life-logistics for moving away from Virginia were lining up with unexplainable ease. Within a week, I sold a property and rented my home fully-furnished for an extended lease. Our work with our business clients in Virginia wrapped up effortlessly and it seemed like everyone we knew couldn’t stop raving about Texas.

But despite the ease with which our loose ends were tying up in Virginia, nothing seemed to be lining up in Dallas and we were only two months away from our desired move date. So on this evening, we did what any normal, type-A, over-producers would do, and decided to figure it all out on our own. So we took to the Internet. I scoured craigslist, Zillow, Trulia and any other site we could think of looking for a place to live in Dallas. Rachel started “facebooking” every person she knew in Dallas, hoping that someone would have a lead for us. Yet we discovered… nothing. Feeling frustrated and a little like we’d fallen down a rabbit hole, we decided to stop. I turned on Scandal, poured a glass of wine and tried to turn off my brain. Rachel went to go take a shower and we figured we’d regroup tomorrow.

Twenty minutes later, Rachel came tearing out of the bathroom, her hair dripping wet and told me to turn the TV off. Now I’m not a fan of anything that interrupts Scandal, but something in her tone told me I should comply. She looked at me and said “we have to pray about Dallas.”

She was right. Rachel and I often fall into the “I can do this on my own” trap, despite the commitment we’ve made to consult God in our decisions, big or small. We stopped what we were doing and prayed. We asked God for clarity, vision and guidance. And He answered our prayer. But as we’ve come to know, the answer wasn’t quite what we expected. He told us to fast.

This wasn’t just an instruction to abstain from food, God told us to fast from distraction. About a month earlier, we both decided to start a “dating fast” so that we could focus on God’s plan for our business without the distraction of men, but we knew that God was calling us to an even higher level of focus. We spent the evening discussing the other things in our lives that distract us from God and his purpose for us, then we settled on eliminating television, alcohol and abstaining from food once a week. We decided that the fast would last one month. I wish I could say that the inspiration for the timeline was divine… but the truth is that I wanted to be able to watch TV and have a beer during the Raven’s first game of the regular season… which was exactly one month away.

We started our “distraction fast” the next day, and as I quickly discovered, I was much more addicted to TV than alcohol! I didn’t miss my New Zealand Sauv Blanc’s nearly as much as I thought, but I missed my cheesy, silly sitcoms more than I ever expected. It took a few days to adjust to the new normal, but I quickly noticed a fresh level of spiritual connection and awareness of God’s presence. It was like tuning in to an amazing radio station that can only be heard when everything else is quiet.

During the fast, God gave me new clarity about his purpose for my life, in the immediate, and the long-term. But most importantly, He challenged my faith. God asked if I was truly willing to follow him wherever He would lead me. I pondered this question for a few days, before finally answering with an emphatic, Yes!

After this, God quickly revealed the new plan. He told us that we were going to travel. Not a short trip, and not a comfortable vacation. We were going to travel around the world and live among different cultures… ah! What?! The idea of this adventure was incredibly exciting, but there was one hesitation: money. Rachel and I are new business owners, barely covering our expenses some months and not covering them at all in others! How was I going to afford an around the world trip with an indefinite timeline?

And this is when we stepped out into the faith zone. We may not have disposable income, but one of the perks of being a 30-something, is that you’ve worked long and hard enough to stash some cash in your retirement funds. Enough cash for a year or so of sensible, world-wide travel. God asked if I would follow him wherever he would lead, and I’m on board. The worst-case scenario is that we spend every dime we’ve ever made, have the most amazing year, come home and get jobs. But the best-case scenario is that countless lives are enriched forever, we have the adventure of a lifetime and God teaches us what makes up a full, engaged and ENLIVENED life.

I don’t know exactly where this journey will lead, or what it will look like. But it’s going to be an amazing adventure.

By: Natalie Hunter, 10/8/2015