A Reflection

This time one year ago despite the tornados ripping through Fenton, I was excited beyond belief to be marrying my best friend the next day.  I already knew that many changes would lie ahead for me, but I never really expected for so many blessings to come our way.  Sometimes I still can't believe that God has brought me such a wonderful man who cares so much about me and keeps me well grounded.  I may have to brag about him a little bit in this post (and maybe even a little sappy).  :-)  Here's a reflection on the big stuff that has happened in the past year:

10 days after getting married, I started my last semester at HLG.  A week after that, I started my new job at a bank in Hannibal, just scanning in paperwork.  Caleb was also continuing working at Walmart and youth pastor at Edgewood Baptist Church.  We were living in an apartment in downtown Hannibal, and let's just say it wasn't the most pleasant place to live.  Our neighbors smoked all the time, our doors and windows didnt seal up so smoke liked to make its way into our apartment.  Our front door had glass panels with a simple dead bolt, which really didnt make me feel safe since all someone had to do was bust out a panel of glass and unlock our door.  We had some friendly neighbors, and some not so friendly neighbors.  The neighbors on our floor got into a fight at 3 a.m. one morning and it lasted for 45 minutes, and some other neighbors upstairs liked to use some not so kind names for us.  Caleb was so good at trying his hardest to make sure that I felt safe.  He couldnt be there for me all the time because he always went to work before I had to be at work or school, but one day in particular I was getting a bad vibe on my way to work and I texted Caleb about it. Since he was off work that day, as I was walking out of the building to go home for lunch, Caleb was sitting on the picnic table outside the bank waiting for me to ride home with me and make sure that I felt safe on my way home.  It turns out that everything ended up fine. We only lived 3 blocks away from the bank, but this reassured me early on in our marriage that he will always be there for me even when my fears end up being over something that I blow up in my mind to be worse than it actually is. 

In April I was given the opportunity to become a relief teller at the bank.  Since I had thought that I wanted to go into banking, I was excited about this opportunity to get this experience.  This job made for an interesting days because any day I showed up to work I could be sent to any branch to work. 

I graduated from HLG in May with my bachelors in finance and accounting.  After all of this was past me, we started looking more seriously at moving to the Louisville area for Caleb to go to seminary.  We definitely knew it was going to be a step of faith because we were going to have to leave everything we called "normal" behind us.  Towards the end of May, we went to Estes Park, Colorado for our delayed honeymoon. While we were there, we got a phone call from Caleb's sister that they had decided to move from New Albany, Indiana around the end of June, which is when we were planning on moving, and wanted to know if we wanted to take their apartment.  It was definitely the first step in knowing that this is where the Lord would have us since we werent even going to need to make a trip to look for apartments!  Since we had never even seen the apartment, the landlord was even willing to give us a 6 month lease in case we didnt like it.

At the end of June, we both quit our jobs, left our beloved church, packed up, and headed east.  Caleb's parents were so gracious to help us move and let us crash with them for a weekend while we were inbetween apartments.  We ended up loving the apartment and it was such an upgrade from our old homestead.  We have no neighbors, a solid front door, actual closets, washer and dryer hook ups, a shower head that doesn't only have two temperatures (scalding hot or freezing cold) and, a dishwasher, and counter tops that are big enough to fit more than just a dish strainer. 

We found a new church that makes us feel so welcomed and we feel like we fit in.  I started my job search (which you can read about in older posts) and even on my days when I felt like I would never find a job, Caleb was always there to reassure me that everything would work out and the Lord would provide for us one way or another. 

The Lord also blessed me with the opportunity to be a part of the Seminary Wives Institute at Southern.  I have been able to meet several other seminary wives and learn more about what it means to be a ministry wife from faculty wives who have been in my situation before. 

I started my new job this past week and so far I really like it.  I think that I will enjoy my job, but it has been a little hectic the past couple days with figuring out what my job duties are since a lot of people are shifting around jobs and training for a different position.  I cant help but feel overwhelmed with blessings that I have a job that can actually support two people so he can focus on school and not have to sacrifice study time because of having to work.  I really hope that this is my last first day on the job for a long time since this is my third time this year starting at a new company, and my fifth new position.

And so now here we are at the end of our first year.  A lot of people say that the first year is the hardest, and if that is the case, then the rest of our lives together is going to rock.  We have really learned how to be patient with each other and how to get along peacefully without even getting into an argument.  There hasnt been a day thats gone by where I havent absolutely loved being married to such a wonderful man.  Along with my faith in God, he has been my constant throughout a crazy year of starting life over in a new city.  We were talking the other day that even though we had a year-long engagement which seemed to last an eternity, it's almost hard to remember what life was like before we were married.   Happy first Anniverary Caleb!  Thanks for being my Prince Charming :-)

December 16

December 16 is one of those dates that I will always remember.  Two years ago today Caleb asked me a question that forever changed our relationship.  That question was “Are you sure you want to do this?”, but nevertheless, I knew it was the question that would make our engagement become official.    To go along with school tradition, the next day we climbed to the top of the bell tower and flipped the bell.

Today was also another excellent December 16.  My last day of work was scheduled to be tomorrow, but after some thought this morning, I decided to find someone to take my shift for me, making today my last day of work.  Caleb and I are going to celebrate our Christmas tomorrow since we are leaving next week to go to Missouri and we won’t be here on Christmas, so now we are going to be able to spend the whole day together focusing on more important things in life J. 

A long time coming

Ever since we made the decision to move to the Louisville area, I've been looking and looking and looking for jobs.  Since I was already working at a bank, I applied at every bank in the Louisville/Southern Indiana area.  I got one call back in October from a job I applied to in July and she told me they didnt have anything open but would keep in contact with me (still waiting on that phone call).  I knew that with the way the Lord had so easily provided us a place to live and other various blessings in making this move that this is where we were supposed to be and I had to wait for the perfect job to open. 

Back in August, the pastor from the church we had only been attending for two months at the time told me about the company he used to work for, Louisville's Fox tv station, and how I might be able to land a job there.  I called the contact he gave me and asked for an interview.  I went in for the interview and everything went wonderfully but with only one problem.  There was no position open.  I was happy to at least have had an interview and if a position were to open, we would already be acquainted.  Weeks went by and everyday there was a little bit of hope in me that maybe that would be the day I get an email saying that something opened up.  I still kept applying at places hoping that something better than Target would come along, and in the mean time, I was clipping every coupon that might save us a few cents here and there.  I had an interview with a podiatrist office a few weeks ago, and two days after that interview I got a phone call from Fox letting me know that there were changes happening.  He told me that he still couldnt promise me a job, but there was a possibility of one opening.  My dreams of quitting target became a little bit more vivid.  :-)  Finally on Wednesday of this week, I got the email asking me to come down to the station to talk about how I will fit in with the company's new plans.  I figured that was enough for me to put in my two weeks to Target to ensure that we could go home for Christmas. 

Then came today.  I got off work at 1 and came home, changed clothes, grabbed a snack and headed out the door by 1:30.  I was supposed to be at Fox by 2:30 and knew that would give me enough time to get across the bridge.  Caleb had mentioned that there was an accident on the second street bridge and to make sure that I take the Kennedy.  No big deal, right?   So I'm driving along and I'm about 3 miles away from getting onto the highway I see a sign that says "Second Street Bridge closed.  Expect long delays" and after another mile or so, traffic came to a halt.  Eventually people are getting so antsy that they are driving on the shoulders, and even driving on the grass next to the shoulder.  I kept calling Fox to let them know my progress and where I was at, and of course they were very understanding since this is obviously something that was not in my control. He had also told me that the news report said it would open up again around 3.  At about 3:45 when traffic still wasnt getting any better, I called Caleb to have him check and see if the bridge was open yet, and fortunately it was.  However, all of my "friends" around me still had no clue, so I sneaked over a lane and it was smooth sailing all the way to Louisville!  Of course, downtown traffic was all congested and it took me awhile to figure out where to park, but finally after a 3 hour journey, I had arrived!

After all of this, I got some good news......I was being offered a job!  In my field!  Doing what I like to do!  And beind paid money for it!  I'll get to start in a few weeks and I'm so excited about it.  It is definitely an answer to ours and many people's prayers, and I can't thank you enough if you were one of those who prayed for me.  I am so thankful that the Lord is providing me with well above the means necessary to be able to provide for my husband and me during this season while he is in seminary.