Adventures in New Castle

If you had told me 8 years ago that I would move 7.5 times in the next 8.5 years, I would have laughed at you and said, "You're crazy!" See, I lived in the same house for the first 16 years of my life. I went to one school. I did the same thing for Christmas every year. I loved the traditions and consistency and had every intention of carrying on the rest of my life in the exact same way. I mean, if something's not broken, why fix it?

Then this guy came into my life...

 He said, "I love God and I'm going to follow Him wherever he takes me. Want to join me?" And apparently I had fallen for him because I said, "Yes."

 So here we are, on the brink of our 8th move. Why are we moving this time? I'm glad you asked! As we've been married and serving in various ministries, we've discovered that we like to start things. Well, maybe not like it as much as we've been given opportunities to start things, so we're beginning to find out what works and what doesn't. In learning this, Jeremiah decided that he wants to help with church planting. NAMB -- North American Mission Board -- has asked us to do a year long internship with a friend of Jeremiah's over in New Castle, CO. When the idea was first being mulled over, I was not super excited. Traveling back and forth? Maybe living there for 3-6 months? I mean, we just got here. But then Jeremiah came back from a meeting one day and asked, tentatively, "What if we move over there for a year?" And, to my own surprise, it sounded like a great idea. I felt peace and confidence about it and Jeremiah was pumped that I was on board because he was expecting I'd put up a fight. (Does that really sound like me? Um, yes. But anyway...) Just a couple of months later we've finished up our MOPS group, celebrated a 1 year old's birthday, found a place to live, signed a lease, celebrated Christmas, and told most people where we're headed. We've started to get a good collection of boxes and even packed a few.

When we started putting a few boxes together I began to feel the typical stress rise as I thought about all the work that would be required in the next couple of weeks. Especially with 2 little ones unpacking the boxes behind me. How will they adjust to the move? Are they going to regress in their sleeping, when we've finally been making some great progress? Will we be able to get everything done in time? How are we going to afford to live somewhere that is more expensive? Will there be people willing to help us pack and unpack? Many, legitimate questions. But somehow, the peace remains, and for me, that is enough. Even just a few years ago I may have responded with frustration or bitterness or anger over another move. But my perspective is changing and with each move comes adventure; new people to meet, a new place I can say I lived, different experiences, a chance to explore and discover more of this world, a chance to see God move and answer prayers and accomplish His purpose. How can I say "no" to that? What if by saying "no" I miss a miracle? A chance to witness something truly meaningful and irreplaceable. My life might not be playing out the way I anticipated at 14, 17, or even 20 years of age, but that's ok. Every day that I'm living within the will of God, surrendered to Him, I can find peace, hope, and even joy. Every day that I let go I have the opportunity to do something I might have missed had I held on. So here we go, on another adventure, and this time I'm excited because you never know what life will bring, but I'm not going to miss out by trying to hold on to the past and how I thought things would be. I'm stepping out, arms open wide, taking the next step, and finding joy.

Home is wherever I'm with these three <3 

To life... full of Adventures in New Castle!