Leap of Faith: Following God’s calling to Colorado

By Nicole PIlgrim 

In 2012 our family of four traveled to Colorado for summer vacation. After a week of soaking in the panoramic views of the Rocky Mountains and wearing light jackets during unseasonably cool August evenings, we declared it to be the most beautiful place we had ever seen. 

We headed back south, and somewhere between multiple pit stops and hundreds of miles of highway, my husband and I casually agreed that one day Colorado would be our future. 

We both grew up in the piney woods of East Texas. We met in high school, attended Texas A&M together, and settled in the bustling Dallas-Fort Worth metroplex to raise our family. 

Our children attended our neighborhood school where I worked as a first-grade teacher. I felt blessed to teach alongside some of the best educators I’d ever known, and also some of my dearest friends.

Life wasn’t perfect, of course, but it was humming along smoothly. My 11-year-old daughter was thriving in piano lessons and musicals while our nine-year-old was excelling in gymnastics. They had a close-knit group of friends and loved their school.

I enjoyed living life alongside our best friends, frequently getting together for everything from playdates to dinner dates. Our family was only a short drive away. I loved leading a Sunday School class with my husband at church. 

We were approaching our late 30’s and content to grow old in the home we loved. 

So it came as a complete shock when, smack in the middle of our comfortable fairytale life, I heard God telling me that it was time to let it all go.

Hearing God’s calling, together  

Three years had passed since that vacation in the mountains, and I hadn’t thought about it since. We always assumed it would serve as our quaint little retirement spot … many years down the road.

And yet I’d felt an unrelenting sense of restlessness that went on for months, holy unrest I couldn’t ignore. When I prayed about the source of the discontentment, God continued to gently whisper that it was time to make the move. He was calling us to Colorado.

I was filled with awe that God graciously made his will crystal clear. I was also amazed to discover that crippling fear and delirious excitement could coexist in my heart.

Several weeks later, while my husband and I were on a walk, I confessed that I felt God calling our family to move. After a few moments, my husband stopped walking, looked at me, and told me that he felt God telling him exactly the same thing. 

We walked in silence for a while. Neither of us had ever felt such clear and specific guidance from God before. Yet I wrestled with doubt. My emotions ping-ponged between the excitement of a new adventure and the pain of an inevitable goodbye to friends and family. 

We agreed to continue praying about it. Recognizing the implications of such a decision weighed heavy on us both. We prayed that if this was, in fact, His will, God would open doors and create opportunities. 

God responded with a resounding yes. He did not take away the desire to move. Instead, it only intensified. And to top it off, my husband was given the opportunity to stay with his company while working remotely. 

As God’s will became more clear, my heart became more divided. I felt enormous guilt for plucking our kids from their idyllic childhood. The future I planned for them disappeared like a balloon set free, drifting away before my eyes.

As a mother, I feared how deeply this would affect them. I was terrified of leaving the comfortable life we knew, but I could no longer ignore God’s calling. We were finally putting into practice the very faith we claimed to have.

Discovering God’s faithfulness is homesickness 

I diligently researched top school districts and once we explored the Fort Collins area, we knew it was a perfect fit. Less than 12 months after our conversation -- and four years after our Rocky Mountains vacation -- my husband and I loaded up a U-Haul and drove 15 hours north to our new home. 

The initial excitement soon dissolved into homesickness. The first several months felt like an uphill battle. Our daughters, in fifth and seventh grades, struggled being the new kids at school. I could no longer meet my best friend for coffee at a moment’s notice after a hard day. My husband missed the close relationships he’d made through church and his softball team. My heart broke when my girls couldn’t call a close friend to come over and play. 

However, we continued to pray through the rough patches. We prayed that God would remind us of his promises to never leave or forsake us. 

As the months ticked by, things became easier. My husband had never been happier in his role at work, and working remotely from home (long before the COVID pandemic!) suited him perfectly. 

Our children soon formed close friendships and found joy in choir, cross country, volleyball, and youth group. We found a church home and built new relationships with members of our small group Bible study.

We grew closer as a family, made incredible friendships, joined a supportive and active church community. And we continue to have meaningful, extended visits with our family and close friends back in Texas.

Five years have passed since we took that leap of faith and moved to Colorado. For every provision we prayed for, God provided in abundance. And just as He promised, God was my anchor in a storm of uncertainty. 

Stepping out in faith built a foundation of trust and dependence on God that changed our lives. God has yet to reveal His specific purpose for calling us here. Even though we don’t know His ultimate plan, I am so grateful that we said yes.

I’m reminded of Peter’s story in Matthew 14. When Jesus called Peter out of the boat, he certainly had doubts. Yet the Lord was calling him to obey, even in the midst of his fear. Every time I read the story, I am reminded that God richly blessed Peter’s life by weaving his obedience into one of the greatest miracles in the Bible. 

It isn’t always easy for me to obey God, especially when I can’t see the outcome. But I’ve learned that obedience always leads to a blessing. There is no way of knowing to what extent God will bless my decision to walk in obedience. 

I can trust that a life released into His hands is far greater than any life I could create on my own. 

Nicole Pilgrim is a wife, mother, and full-time writer living in Northern Colorado. She enjoys writing about life through the lens of hope, grace, and humor. She loves hiking and skiing with her family, movie nights at home that include takeout and pajamas, and a great cup of coffee first thing in the morning. Follow her on Facebook, Instagram, and read her writing online at nicolepilgrim.com.