Falling into place

We've been here for about nine months now. Nine long, fast months. Hard, challenging, inspiring, and exciting months. Nine of the most unexpected months that I still can't believe I'm living when I really think about it. Not a single bit of my life now was on my radar or something I ever envisioned on my timeline. But, alas, here I am, living it. And I'll have to say that a lot of the pieces are beginning to fall into place. 

I'm at the point where I can't imagine NOT living this life. I can't imagine not being part of New Song Mission and not working day in and out with Bob, Lisa, Jacob, Nicky, Julie, and Olivia. I can't imagine not teaching Jaylen, Kayden, and Zayden and not having known Jayden and Carter for the short time I had them both in class, as well. I can't imagine not seeing Mike and Matt work together, not growing closer to Chrissy, not being within driving distance of Peggy, and not having the chance I've had recently to get to know Reese in a really special way. 

I can't imagine not becoming a part of the Terrace Lake Church family, not meeting people here that know our people there, not becoming fast friends with Jessica, Hannah, and Renee, not slowly finding my way into the women's ministry, and not quickly joining the Biblical counseling team so I can be a certified Biblical counselor alongside them. 

I can't imagine not living in such a peaceful area with nature surrounding me on all sides, with no sounds on my walks beside the birds singing and the squirrels scampering in the leaves. I can't imagine not living by the nicest of neighbors who all wave from their house up on the hill, cross the street to introduce themselves if they see me out walking, yell up at us from the bottom of our driveway if we're outside for any reason, offer firewood from their property, or just say hi when I walk by if they're out. Neighbors who technically would have been at the other end of the street or even blocks away back in Texas because our houses are that spread apart here, neighbors who own between 5 and 25 acres of land. I can't imagine going back to a longer commute to school filled with traffic and stop lights, school zones, etc. now that I barely feel like I've gotten in the car before I arrive at school after driving along quiet, country roads, barely passing more than a few cars the whole way. I can't imagine going for walks around my neighborhood and riding ten miles a day on my bike in the summer to experience a nature trail when now I live on a two mile nature trail and know we'll eventually cut out our own nature trails right on our own property soon. 

It's been a long road to get here, and I haven't always been patient in the process. I hated the house and the property and couldn't see the value in the location or of the land. I struggled being the new girl who nobody knew on a deep level, who felt like she had to prove herself at her job and who wondered how long she'd have to wait before anyone knew her story, her heart, and her passion to minister to other women. I'm still wondering how long this house is going to take, when I'll have a cozy bathtub to soak my feet in, or when I can actually use my new stove and oven and stop cooking everything two hours too long in a crockpot or meals that can't feed more than two in a tiny toaster oven. New cabinet doors are on the horizon, as well as a new custom-built pantry, but when or how long from now, I do not know. As much as Mike absolutely loves this wide-open project, he's not a linear thinker like I am, and he just kinda "goes with the wind", depending on the day, the amount of help available, and the resources available at the moment. Or how tired he is from whatever job he worked on during the day with Matt. If he's been out in the cold building a deck all day, he's not going to want to do much of anything at home that night. He's always working on something, though. This weekend it was securing firewood to get us through the rest of the cold season and to start preparing for the next. Today it was borrowing his brother's John Deere tractor for the first mow of the spring. Friday we went out of town for the night for our anniversary, and earlier in the week he met up with several guys in his small group from church. When there's unexpected nice weather, he'll go outside to rake through some dirt behind the house and end up in the woods attacking vines that have grown out of control. 

So here are a few highlights of the last few/next few months of this very unexpected life here:

• A field trip to the Children's Museum (March)
• A field trip to a Mexican restaurant/grocery store for a cultural experience
• Lots of cross-cultural treats as we've been virtually traveling to the 21 Spanish-speaking countries of the world for Spanish class
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• At least one more field trip for the year
• Hosting parents in the classroom and on campus for "A Day in the Life of your Child"
• Weekly Together Tuesday gatherings where we all operate as a team in one location with the kids
• Coffee get-togethers at my house (yes, at my very unfinished house)
• Our Community Group piloting a Soul Care Ministry that has helped us make a lot of connections
• Growing deeper connections and friendships with our new discipleship groups
• An invite from new friends for dinner
• An invite to a Colombia mission trip (that I can't go on due to timing)
• An invite to a Biblical Counseling conference with other church staff and lay people in Fort Worth, Texas (meaning I'll have about 8 hours when it's over to spend with my boys and very briefly see my family)
• Starting to share about my books/my story with people at church
• Working on Scripture/encouragement cards for the women's ministry gathering this May

• Getting to run a table for the women's ministry gathering this May
• Near daily nature walks

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• Meeting really nice neighbors
• A sweet friend/coworker's bridal shower and upcoming wedding
• New Song hosting a first ever Foster Parent retreat
• New Song Adventure Camps! (that will likely bring new students for next year, so keep praying for God to bring just the right couple to houseparent girls so we can add some girls to our classroom next year.)