life… right now.

I am sure that word has gotten around, especially after Carl announced it on Facebook, that we are now in the market for another preaching job and with that of course comes a new home, new community, new friends… you know, a new life basically. Yes, Carl was “relieved of his duties” {that’s a nice way to put it, so we’ll go with that} last Sunday night. No, I really don’t want to go into details … although some of you know already. It came as a total shock and not one of those welcome kind. At the time, we still had O with us and planned on keeping her as long as DHR allowed us to {although we were very certain that wouldn’t be long at all…}.

So to find out, out of the blue, that we were jobless on Sunday night was like having the rug pulled out from underneath us {again}. Obviously by my saying “again” we know that it isn’t the first time that this has happened… although last time it happened, it was a sort of snowball that finally reached us… this time it truly was like a rug being yanked and the first half of this week I felt like I couldn’t pull myself off of the floor.

But you know what? You have to. That’s just life. And unfortunately this kind of thing, this sudden termination, isn’t always unknown in the ministry life, as it were. Unfortunately it happens all the time. Unfortunately we have a lot of preaching friends who can commiserate with us. But, fortunately, a lot of them have assured us that things will work out, that we will get back up again, that we will find somewhere else, and we will be taken care of.

We have a time crunch, though. We were given three weeks. While Carl is searching for a new job and contacting different congregations, I’ve been working hard to  get the house packed up. It’s so hard when I have a six month old and a four year old as well… Good thing I’m an insanely fast packer! At least it does well enough to keep my mind off of things.

I know that things will work out. I want to be real with you, though. It has been really difficult for me to not be bitter and angry about this. I don’t  think it’s right and I don’t think it’s fair, but that’s just how it is sometimes. There is nothing I can do about it, except not let it slow me down too much. And I say “too much” because it does slow me down. I have moments where I am fed up with packing, and fed up with why I’m packing, and wish I could somehow change things.

But I can’t.

I wish I could be like Benjamin and just be excited about a new adventure. Ignorance really is bliss because he is oblivious to the stress that comes along with all of this. He doesn’t know that finding a preaching job sometimes takes a really, really long time. We’ll probably end up living with my parents {again, again} for a little while as we search for our next home. All Benjamin will know is that he gets to spend more time with people who love him, and that’s awesome. He’s excited to be able to meet new people and make new friends and I am so thankful for my upbeat little guy who gives me a new perspective each and every day.

So, yeah. We don’t have a job, and we will soon be leaving this home… and I don’t know where we’ll end up, and that’s scary and terrifying and exciting. And that’s life and life’s good most of the time so I guess what I’m trying to say is

we will be okay.

matthew 6:33 – seek ye first the kingdom of God and all these things will be given unto you