Why North Dakota?

When I first meet people and they find out our family moved here from another state, the initial question is typically: why North Dakota? I know we North Dakotans are rightfully proud of our state, so it’s not a question of, “why in the world would you choose to live here?” It’s more about curiosity concerning the journey that took us here. And that answer is not a straight line.
 
My college and university training was in Economics. I had plans to be an economist in the private sector for my entire career, marry this wonderful girl named Ruth, drive a Jaguar, own a beautiful home, work for a Fortune 500 company, and have a perfect little family whose biggest concern was choosing which clubs to belong to. God had other plans, and frankly, I only ever got one of those items I just listed. At least it was the most important one (yes, I’m talking about Ruth).
 
If there is one thing I’ve learned over the years, it’s that you have your plans for your life, and God has His plans for your life. If they’re in sync, all is well. If they aren’t, whose plan do you think is going to win? You can go willingly or go after being “whacked in the head”, so to speak, by God, until you come around. I’m Dutch, so I received a lot of whacks before I came around.
 
I never wanted to work in a nonprofit, certainly never wanted to be part of a “ministry”, didn’t have any interest in fundraising, and didn’t know what policy work was or how to do it. In short, I was definitely not the right person to be where I am today, doing what I am doing. Remember that thing I mentioned about God’s plan?
 
There have been many twists and turns on our family’s path, as may be true for many of your families as well. We never anticipated them or frankly always wanted them, but they made us stronger, smarter, and most importantly, made us realize that we needed God every step of the way.
 
During my interview process for this position, Ruth and I scheduled dinner to meet my prospective new boss. He called me up, we decided on a restaurant and time to meet, and then before I had a chance to hang up, he said, “I have one question for you. Why do you want to move to North Dakota?”
 
I replied, “I never sat down and thought to myself, ‘Wow, I have this great yearning to move to North Dakota.’ But what I have learned over the years is that you go where God calls you. Right now it’s North Dakota, so that’s where I need to be.” In hindsight, I guess that was a sufficient answer, because he hired me.
 
That answer was actually pretty simple, and it has remained so: “because God wants me here”. Being in God’s plan is not a promise of having an easy life, in fact, it’s quite often the opposite. However, it’s a place of peace. And I wouldn’t trade it for all the Jaguars and fancy homes in the world.