an update.

Hi friends,

I’ve felt a little absent on the blog lately... there has been a lot going on at work and in our personal lives!

Last weekend the hubby and I set out on an 800 mile journey through middle North Carolina and back to Atlanta. 

 As I have mentioned before Justin is preparing to (fingers crossed!) be commissioned as a provisional Elder in United Methodist Church. In fact, his interview for approval is next week. Basically, this will be a 3 year “provisional” period before being officially ordained as pastor. The process of becoming a Pastor in the UMC is complicated, long, and a bit consuming. If you are not familiar with the UMC, it can be difficult to describe! Come April Justin will receive his appointment at a church and we will be moving to this currently unknown location the first week in July.

Thus comes our 800 mile journey. Justin is seeking an appointment as an associate to start with and several years from now will look at moving into a Senior Pastor position. In our conference (Western North Carolina) there are only a handful of associate positions available and around 25 candidates seeking associate positions. The churches contact those they would like to interview with and then both the church and the interviewee will submit their top choices. Of course, the Bishop then decides the exact placement!

Justin was contacted by a number of different churches and he managed to set up his meetings over a 2 day span. Of course, I went along for the ride and to get a feel for each place! I had not intended to sit in on the meetings, but each location invited me to stay as well. It was busy and stressful literally running from one location to another, but we were grateful to be able to have lunch with some friends and for other friends who opened their guest room to us as well! 

 10+ hours in the car together! Quality time right?

Each church we visited was different and the exact job requirements were unique at each church as well. We were in small, middle of nowhere towns, downtown in a city, and somewhere in between towns. Two of the locations instantly didn’t feel like the right place, but Justin has not decided yet out of the others what his top picks are going to be. Oh how I wish we could take all the good things from these churches’ and put them together into one!

Yes, this the sanctuary in a Methodist church .. it even has a secret tunnel.

Of course, in my mind I have this idea of the “ideal” church…contemporary worship, a young adult ministry that includes people around our age, a preschool, a housing allowance rather than a parsonage, and in a location that has a more “country” feel but is close to civilization. Not to mention, a warm, fuzzy feeling when you arrive! (Okay if I am being honest here it would be in the mountains as well!) 

I’ve known this time would come for many, many years. It has been what we been preparing for! And now that it is here, it is much more difficult to give up control over where I will live and my house and other parts of my life then I imagined it would be. I am resigning myself over to the fact that Sunday is officially a work day at our house. It is difficult to know that we be far from family and the familiar. And it also means that I am starting over again with my job, and I am very unsure of what I might like to pursue right now. (Not to mention I am taking on a new “job” as an official Pastor’s wife! What other profession do you know where are are expectations for your spouse as well? Or where the spouse often goes to work with you?)

We are anxious about what the final decision will be and we are seeking to hear God’s voice for direction. I am learning that I really need to let go of my expectations and desires and to be willing to follow my husband’s lead. As much as I know God is faithful and has a plan, the waiting is hard. And, like God does, sometimes most likely the answers put you out of our comfort zone or are different from what you might have chosen for yourself.

Your prayers would be appreciated this next week and in the coming months as Justin goes for his interview and we make this transition! Thank you in advance!