In the fall of 2017, Megan and Jacob Johnson’s dream became a reality: they left the metropolitan lifestyle of Northwest Arkansas to live in Texarkana. The Johnsons were happy and thriving in Springdale with fulfilling jobs, two young children, and their fur babies. Yet, the Johnsons had a “quiet prayer” that had been nestled in their hearts for six years ...

Megan grew up in Texarkana, Arkansas. She and Jacob met their junior year at the University of Arkansas in Fayetteville. Megan’s roommate and best friend had grown up with Jacob in Pine Bluff, and she introduced them. “After spending only a day and a half with Jacob, I told my mom that I would marry him. And that’s exactly what happened—three years later!” Megan recalls. She earned a bachelor’s degree in Communication and a master’s degree in Interpersonal Communication. Jacob

earned a bachelor’s degree in Business Finance. They married on July 10, 2010. “It’s crazy to think that I love him more now than I did back then, but it’s true,” Megan states. “After watching him become a father and just lead our family so well ... I can honestly say, I’m more in love now than I was on our wedding day. He’s truly my best buddy and my greatest cheerleader. I’m so thankful for the partnership in our marriage.”

Megan and Jacob established a full life in Northwest Arkansas. They both worked for major companies at the corporate level; Megan, for Walmart, Inc. and Jacob, for J.B. Hunt Transportation, Inc. As a couple, they grieved the loss of Jacob’s father, who had died from the deteriorating illness ALS just before getting engaged. In 2012, they welcomed a daughter, Ellery Grace, now age 6, and in 2015 a son, Whitmarsh Post, now age 3.

*The Johnson family foursome celebrating Thanksgiving lunch on November 16, 2018, at Whit’s school, The Training Station.*

However, in the spring of 2017, the Johnsons had been listening to a call from God “to move closer to family and to be less of a part of the big corporate rat race.” “We had this yearning to turn our reality upside down and move. But, why?” Megan remembers. “Why in the world would we pop our happy little bubble for the chance to fall flat for an elusive fantasy?” Megan and Jacob were happy with their church, their neighborhood, and their children’s school. They were living in the “land of Razorback Nation, with bright red and golden autumn days, the best shopping in the state, etc.” “Moving away from Northwest Arkansas just didn’t make sense in the natural,” Megan explains. “Honestly, there were many nights when I second-guessed that stirring. Was it from God, or just a fleeting thought? The polite whisper was only a soft nudge, but it was too pure and consistent to be from anything but Him. And, when we finally came to grips with that, He reminded us that He heard all of our quiet prayers.”

Indeed, God was in control of the Johnsons’ plans, as the puzzle pieces began to align within the next month. In June, Jacob’s company asked him to open a new J.B. Hunt branch in Texarkana. “Essentially, he was given the golden ticket to do what he’s amazing at—from Texarkana,” Megan avers. “Then, only a few days later, the Lord promoted me in my position and gave me the green light to continue working in the exact same job [that I know and love] – full-time, from home.” The last piece of the puzzle had fallen into place. God turned their dreams into reality. “Unbeknownst to us, [right in the middle of our fear of the unknown] God had softened our employers’ hearts and prepared their minds to agree to let us just continue working from where we wanted to be. So, we packed-up our lives, and last August, we sold our house in Springdale, and closed on our beautiful, new Texarkana home in September.”

The Johnsons really feel that they are living out something they felt was only an impossible dream for many years. Megan works from home for Walmart’s U.S. Communications Team, supporting the U.S. executives and all of its major corporate meetings from a communications perspective. She travels for work about every other month. Megan loves that she has “been blessed with the opportunity to keep doing my passion (writing!), with the exact same title and position, in the town where we most wanted to live, from the comfort of my own home.” Jacob manages the Texarkana J.B. Hunt sales brokerage office and develops relationships with people all across the country. He loves “learning other people’s supply chains and figuring out ways to make them more efficient.”

While work is good, Megan gets most joy from being a mom and watching Elle and Whit grow. In the little free time she has, she enjoys shopping and decorating and rearranging furniture in their home. Jacob enjoys golf, hunting, and all Razorback athletics. Together, they love spending time as a family with Elle and Whit— and the “T-town Moore Fam Crew,” eating at Zapata’s, playing dominos and Shang Hai, and attending and serving at Heritage Church. Most of all, they are blessed with each moment God gives them, and thankful for the life only He could have made possible. Their favorite family scripture, Ephesians 3:20, illustrates the work of God in their lives: “He will do exceedingly and abundantly more than we could ever hope or imagine.” For the Johnsons, this truth is reflected in their wonderful life in Texarkana.

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It’s a Wonderful Life