I wrote this post over 2 1/2 years ago (July 2011 I think) and saved it as a draft...
It's been quite a while since I last posted on this blog. Life has changed quite a bit since we brought Abby home from Florida. Most of you know the events that have transpired over the past 15 months, so I'll skip most of it and clue you in to the last couple of months. Over the past few months we felt God calling us away from Wapella but we weren't sure where we were headed or what He had in store for us. It seemed reasonable for us to move to North Carolina for a time of rest, rejuvenation, and preparation for the next ministry we would go to. Why on God's green earth that seemed reasonable was beyond me, but it did and we took a step of faith and 2 months ago we moved to North Carolina. The two months since have been filled with doubt, confusion, and frustration; however, they have also been filled with an abundance of prayer, provision, and grace. I just want to give you a glimpse into what we see God doing in our lives here in North Carolina.
Within a week of our arrival here in NC James had a job. This act of God's provision also came with much frustration and confusion. James was hired to run night-time linehaul which meant that he had to go to work at 8pm drive to Charlotte, work the dock, and then drive home. James is not a night person and was reaching his limit doing this even for only a couple of weeks. He said many times, "I'm not tryin to die, this is ridiculous!" Then, the week after labor day he only worked 1 day. They just didn't have the work and sent him home day after day. This also contributed to the frustration and quite honestly we were worried about our finances. You can't pay the bills if you don't work! We knew God had provided this job, but were confused as to why it was turning out to be a miserable experience. We had many "disagreements" about what we should do. James looked high and low and all around for a different Job where he wouldn't be afraid for his life and be able to pay the bills, but nothing was opening up. I know I spent many hours praying for him and about this particular issue. After that week James didn't work but one day we found out that he could come in around 1 and work the dock till about 10:30 at night. this was better, but not good, because the possibility of him going back to working nights was strong. There were 5 or 6 people ahead of him who could get the city (day driving) job that was available. Once again God showed his love and answered our prayers. All of the people ahead of him chose to stay on linehaul and James was able to start working full-time during the day. Today he went in at 10:30 to start his new shift.
We have also had trouble finding a church to attend. We had some rough experiences with some of them and I have a new appreciation for being a newbie to anything. It's not fun at all. For the first few weeks we came home from church feeling miserable and defeated instead of fulfilled and ready to tackle the week. Many times over the past couple of months we have doubted whether or not we made the right decision to leave Wapella. We questioned our ability to hear and discern God's leading in our lives. We've been frustrated about why things weren't going to plan.
James has been interested in church planting for some time now. He has been studying and reading about it for well over a year now. We knew this area was known for being a hot spot for church plants so one of the hopes we had when moving down here was the hope of getting some experience with a church plant so that if God calls us to that ministry in the future we will be more prepared.
....here's where I dropped this post never to be seen by the light of day. I had forgotten all about it. God is so good! So much has changed since I wrote this over 2 1/2 years ago...
During the 2 months after I wrote this post we were able to pay the bills. God led us to an amazing church plant in Winston Salem and we were incredibly blessed to help them get started in their ministry. But, once again James was facing layoffs and I was so homesick that we decided to move back to Illinois in October. James was able to transfer to the Con-Way in Bloomington and get a raise and actually drive a truck as opposed to just loading them. The 6 months we lived in Hudson were hard, but good. In February of 2012 we were offered a ministry position in Petersburg, Il. We've been here for 2 years now. Those 10 months of transition between Wapella and Petersburg were crazy, we made mistakes, but we learned a lot... about us, about God, about ministry, and about life. Maybe next time I'll blog about the last 2 years in Petersburg. They have been pretty amazing.
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