My Brave Story- Naomi Loomis — In the Wild+Wonder

This woman that we are featuring today is an all around cowgirl. From owning a ranch in the Nebraska Sandhills, being a third generation rancher, raising her four children and taking on several other tasks, Naomi Loomis gives a great example of a hardworking, determined woman of God. Naomi's life keeps her busy as she is very active in her community, one of which is the Western States Ranch Rodeo Association Representative. I first encountered this woman's blog after she started following Candace and I on our Cooped Up Cowboys Wife Instagram. Shortly after re-following her and realizing that she too loved Jesus and had a blog, I was curious and went to explore her site, (http://fromthecornerofthecirclel.blogspot.com/). While visiting her blog I read one of her posts called, "Worry Into Faith." This blog post really spoke to my heart and reminded me that I can not worry about what I am not in control of, and to give it to God and be in continual prayer about it. It amazes me the people God places in our lives to help us along the way whether we directly know them or not! Take a look at Naomi's Brave story!

-Kirste

I grew up in a godly home in Chugwater, Wyoming. Going to church every Wednesday and Sunday was what we did. Attending yearly church conventions were our family vacations. But, did I really know God and His power? Probably not. Throughout my life God has shown His hand many times, but this is one story of how I am thankful for His work.

It was the fall of my senior year in High School and I had been working in Colorado all summer hauling hay to local feed lots. I thought I had my life planned out. This is what I thought... I was going to finish High School in Chugwater, but not play volleyball. Then I would go back to Colorado and marry the boy I was dating. My life was going to be perfect. Well, God had another plan for me. I got a call from my mom about two weeks before school was going to start. "Naomi, your coach is calling for you, practice starts on Monday and you need to be there.” I packed only a few of my items because I just knew that I would be back, and headed to Wyoming. I had to obey my mother, but mostly I didn’t want to let my team down. So, I figured that going to play volleyball with my team was something that I just had to do. Little did I know that God had a HUGE plan for my life. I reported to volleyball and to school. My boyfriend at the time was all of the sudden not answering phones calls; you know like I was the last thing on his mind. My emotions ran high and I was not praying, nor was I asking for any help from God. We ended up breaking up. I continued on with my senior year and with a bad attitude about life. I really thought I had my life planned out, and it wasn’t going as I had thought it would. What I didn’t realize at the time was that all along my mom had been praying for me.

This is what DID happen. My parents insisted that I attend a fall church convention. (For the record, I did not want to go, but I did.) It was there that I met my future husband. I also finished high school. Through this I learned the power of prayer and that God never gives up on us. I learned that we need to let God be in control because He has our best interest in mind. God has a plan for each of us.

Today, my Cowboy and I are happily married with 4 children. We are raising them on our ranch in the Sandhills of Nebraska. We are teaching our children the power of prayer and the importance of being Godly. We have faith that God is leading our lives because we have decided to align our will with His and seek Him daily. The process of the growing up journey is a really important part of life. I used to think that if God would just illuminate the path like a runway to show me which way He wanted me to go in life, then I would be so happy to follow Him. But, I really believe that He doesn’t do this because He wants us to seek a relationship with Him. The Bible tells us that God speaks to us in a soft whisper and we really need to get quiet with Him and take time with Him to hear the direction that He has for us. That’s not just part of the process, it’s like an incredibly integral and important central piece of my life puzzle.

I’m incredibly thankful to my mother for taking time with God and praying for me when I was not praying and seeking God myself. This saved me from an unhealthy relationship and put me on the right path. I look back often at how it was not the way I wanted my life to work out, but how thankful I am that God didn’t answer the prayers the way I wanted. I have seen the Lord answer our prayers differently than we hoped and we’ve also seen Him very specifically answer exactly what we were praying for just in the nick of time. I am thankful God has us in His hands and that I see Him work in my life every day.