A New Adventure

Welp... since it's now on Facebook (meaning it totally wouldn't be official otherwise...*wink*) I finally feel free to spill my guts like I've been wanting to for a good long time. In case you haven't noticed (but you have, right?? You know my insecurities!) I've been a little MIA lately and as I've sort of alluded before, when I can't say everything I'd rather not say anything so... I haven't. Ordinarily I'd be more than content to just share my usual mindless drivel (speaking of, don't worry... I haven't abandoned my Disney playlist series!) but I've been SO busy that even those posts were not really happening.

So, this is the story all about how my life got twisted, turned upside down... oh, wait. I'm not moving to Bel Aire. (But bonus points if you can finish that song!) Anyway. Back to business.

As long as I've known Jonathan, he has talked about wanting to be involved in church planting/home missions in some way. He talked about it in high school, in college, and since we've been married. But clearly the Lord has had other plans for us for the past four years, and we've been content- happy even- to serve where we've been called, both Goldsboro and New Bern- "blooming where we're planted," if you will. But remember my word of the year? (If you've carelessly forgotten, it was delight... but more on that in a second.)

So, over the past few months, Jonathan started feeling more strongly about this home missions thing and wondering how and when it might work out for us to get involved in it. (Also, I was totally in the dark about this for much of the time... he's sneaky that way.) In April, we talked with Heath, our friend who happens to be a home missionary to Houston. And he asked us to pray about coming there. Huh. This was unexpected, but it wasn't really a shock. I mean, Jonathan's praying about an opportunity, and here comes one knocking... I believe that's called luck, no? (Just kidding; obviously it was all God's doing.) 

Clearly this isn't the kind of thing you just decide on a whim, so we were thinking and praying and worrying (well, I was) but it worked out for us to take a trip to Houston at the beginning of June... incognito, of course. 

This is my "Holy cow, what in the world are we doing?!" face. It was mostly attributed to my anxiety about the trip but partially to the fact that we were flying out of New Bern in what was essentially a toy plane. 

When we arrived going there was just a possibility, but when we left it was very clear that God wanted us at Woodforest. Both of us really felt in our hearts that it was right, and our "well, maybe" turned into "okay, how do we make this happen?" And so we continued to pray and figure things out, and while it's still not ALL figured out, right now we know that next week we'll be out of our apartment, living in Goldsboro, and spending the next few months raising support as associate missionaries. Wow! 

It's been a crazy summer... packing up our house, spending several weeks really having no idea what we were going to do, and then finally (after some setbacks) seeing things fall into place. I have a feeling that God's planning on teaching me a LOT over the next few months. I know this process so far has basically taught me that I have absolutely zero control over much of what happens in my life, which, as you can imagine, has made me more than a little crazy. =) But that's the beauty of following God's plan... even if I'm not entirely sure exactly what it looks like, I know that He does. He sees around every corner (and really, I'm kind glad that I can't.) This has been, and will be, an exercise in faith. 

Today... finally relaxing now that the news is out!

Naturally, this kind of news is accompanied by a myriad of emotions... excitement, joy, fear, terror (you know I love my anxieties!) but mostly peace that we are doing what God wants us to do. I mentioned my word delight earlier, and it's been really neat to see the promise of Psalm 37:4 unfold. Honestly, there have been times recently, and specifically the past two months, when delighting was the last thing I've felt like doing. It's not really easy to delight in uncertainty... in fact, it's probably my least favorite thing! But as Jonathan has faithfully sought God's will, faithfully served where we are, and delighted in the Lord, I've been able to watch God give him the desire of his heart... a desire that's been present since he was a teenager on his first missions trip. And, like only God can, He has given me- despite all my fears and insecurities- that same call to share with my husband. 

Things are going to be crazy for the next few months... and honestly, I don't know exactly how everything will go down, so I'm glad I know the One who holds tomorrow! I'll be sharing all of our progress as it arrives, so follow along. It's going to be an adventure! Oh, and please pray for us! I just know you will, because you are awesome that way. =)


Ash