Window in St. Andrew's Cathedral
Mozaics - fracture and fragile but so beautiful, as is the life of a person
Ok, so we've been doing a WHOLE lot of hurry up and wait. It baffles me when people tell me, "You are so calm and patient." Obviously I've perfected my years of training to be a non-anxious presence -- on the outside that is! Because many of you who really know me know that inside I'm usually just a great big ball of stress, AHHHH! And the military and church seem determined to keep me that way! Finally, though, we have a plan!
Church - We will officially be moving to Glencoe, AL in June, where Tim will pastor Glencoe FUMC/Bethel-Southside. We are sad to be leaving our family at OXR UMC, but look forward to what God has in store for us. It will be a difficult transition for the kids, but in THIS I actually feel relatively nonanxious. We have already heard from a variety of people in the new school system so we can start transitioning Andrew's special ed load. Elisabeth is very excited because she will get to attend the gifted magnet school one WHOLE day a week, rather than having one hour a week of gifted education. The school is for gifted 3-6 graders throughout the county -- each school has a particular day. But she is just as excited that the new school has three awesome playgrounds. We will also be much closer to Tim's mom, and we are very, very excited about that! So now on to the logistics of moving -- we're accepting all boxes and Sterilites! HA!
Military - After a year of maybe now/maybe later, we expect Tim to received his ascension next week, FINALLY! Following that he will be officially assigned to a unit and can start duties. After way too much stress, Tim's COL told him that he didn't have to do his four months of training right now. He said he is very pleased with the level of Tim's military and pastoral background. And due to current government upheaval, his unit would probably thank him anyway for putting it off, given that they pay for the training. In other words, he is more than willing to allow him to defer his formal training until he gets settled into the new church. So that is a HUGE weight off of Tim, who was really concerned about my having to pack and move the kids while he was away at Ft. Jackson. I can't imagine why he was worried -- oh yeah, because he knows what a procrastinator I am, hahaha!
Seriously, we are all trying to look forward to a new day. It has been a very difficult year for us all. I've learned a lot of humility. I've spent a lot of time in spiritual wilderness, and although I still have my rough patches, feel like I am regaining some bearings. On a good note, I've lost over 100lbs now, WOO HOO! Feeling great, too! Tim has lost about 80lbs and has become quite the runner (he has good motivation to keep up with those 18 year old recruits!) I'm hoping to get into Jacksonville State's nursing program for the Fall, but trying to be OK with the prospect that it just might not happen until the Spring. I know the best things happen when I put my full trust in God, but let me tell you, folks -- even pastors (sometimes ESPECIALLY pastors) struggle with this. Keep us in your prayers, and we seek to be faithful to our call to go where we are sent and seek out God's will in a new land.
