Transitions

Life is full of times of transition, times when we (willingly or not) make changes that effect ourselves and those around us as well. I've never been good at changes, being in limbo and waiting. But over the last 10 years there have been many and I know that I am glad for the person that God has developed me to be through these transitions.

The first was going from living at home to College and learning how to relate to people around me. And then I met Tim, and fell in love and got married. WOW! That was a big one for me, who wasn't going to get married and was thinking of teaching/foster parenting and maybe being a dorm parent off in another country. None of those things have happened (although being a dorm parent still might some years down the road) and I know that while they sounded incredible at the time, they were not for me.

As Tim and I settled into our life as our own tiny family we moved a few times for various reasons. Tim finished his Bachlors degree and then Masters degree as well. Doing the work-school-church ministry thing occupied so much of our time and we loved every second of it. And while we longed to expand our family it was a long 2-3 years of disappointments, doctors, frustration and questioning God and why everyone around us was having children but we weren't.

And then the test was positive and our entire lives changed. We had the name already, Elianah "My God Who Answers" because we knew that God had answered our prayers with many no's over the years but this was our yes, and no matter how fustrating and trying the whole experiance was God was teaching us to wait on him for answers and to lean on him no matter what.

With the birth of our daughter and Tim's graduation from school we were "free" to go anywhere and do ministry full time. After searching the country (literally) we kept coming back to Albany as a place that we needed to be over and over again. So without knowing what was in store we moved from our home and friends and support network to Albany to start out on an unknown journey. A few months after arriving Tim was offered and accepted a position at a church as their Bi-Vocational (part-time) Pastor.

Over the last 2 years we have been blessed so much by our time there and while there have been hard places we have known that God is in control and that he has a plan for us. That has been our rock, knowing that it is not us but God and that we are not in this alone.

Now with a 2nd child on the verge of arriving, this life style of work and ministry doesn't allow for time for family development and Elianah is aware of how much Daddy is gone and it is hard on her. This and our remaining school debt has led us to another point of transition in our lives and on May 23rd Tim will preach his last sermon at the church we have called home for over 2 years.

So what is next? We don't know all the details (like where we will be moving too) but we do know that Tim is starting his first only (full-time) job on May 17th and sometime in June we will be welcoming a second little girl into our family. Beyond that we know we will be moving sometime before August 1st but the details are yet to be determind.