This transition period has been especially hard on myself. Lots of things are changing and everything in our life that we thought was our normal has become very different.
It started back at the end of May. Although it may seem silly to some people, something in our life happened that really threw us for a whirl. Rodney and I have been married for 7 years and for all of those 7 years we have owned two black labs.
I got Maggie when I was still in high school, before Rodney and I were married. Then after we got married Rodney gave me Molly as a Christmas present. We love our dogs very much and they have been a part of our family. When we moved to New Tribes we were concerned about what we were going to do with them. Thankfully Rodney's mom decided to "babysit" them for two years for us while we were in college.
Last June we were able to go home and pick them up and bring them to their new house and the kids adjusted to having them around again.
We have housesitted for a couple from our church that had to go to Africa for a year. We were blessed with a beautiful home in a country setting with lots of space for our dogs to run and for the kids to play.
This last May, Molly disappeared. I called for the dogs to come back into the garage and Molly never came back. Days and weeks went by and we made many efforts to locate her. From putting ads up, asking neighbors, searching in the woods/ditches, animal shelters and we have had no luck. Our prayer is that someone picked her up to keep her. Well that left us with a decision, all of a sudden we had one dog left.
The following weeks were hard and difficult and weird. We would arrive home and open the garage door and only one dog would come to greet us. Maggie started misbehaving and becoming very mopey.
Rodney and I sat down and talked about our future and what it is going to entail. At that point we felt that it was in the best interest to find Maggie a new home, with fellow dogs. A place where her owners would be home and available to give her the attention she needed.
I posted an ad that day and the following day a lady called and wanted to buy Maggie. We sat down and explained to the kids that we wanted Maggie to have friends and that she really misses Molly and we want Maggie to have a better home. They were sad, but seemed to understand the decision.
That night River and I loaded Maggie into the back of my jeep and we headed off for the ladies house. We arrived to a beautiful antique farm house set on a ton of acreage that was completely fenced in and even had a gated driveway.
We talked to the family and she got to meet the other dogs, and things seemed to go well. One of the main reasons I decided to bring River with me, was so I would stay strong and not cry. That was a very hard thing for me to do.
The next few weeks were very hard and I would think about it and cry. I was excited to be leaving this house and moving because there were too many reminders of our dogs living there with us.
The next month would bring in a lot of stress. We had to move out of our house that we were house sitting for the past year by July 10th and we had no idea where we were staying yet. With no furniture, beds or anything. God was testing our faith and most of all....... my patience.
The Lord revealed to us in His timing...unfortunately not mine, where we would be staying. Some stress was relieved at that point.
So moving week arrived and my mom came down for the last part of it to help me clean the house we were leaving and get it ready for the family to come back to it.
During this whole time our position at First Baptist Church was kind of in question, and we were re-evaluating where we were going to be in the future. After seeking many options, from sending our resumes to different churches and looking into a position in Norway, the Lord laid on our hearts that this may be the perfect timing and transition to go back to school.
This past Sunday, it was announced to our church family and our youth that we would be leaving First Baptist and going back to school so Rodney could earn his Bachelor's.
It was a rough Sunday for everyone. The news shocked many, but many were thrilled to see us progressing in our faith and trust and our education.
Our last Sunday at church will be August 8th, and then Rodney and I and the family will be moving to Winston-Salem North Carolina for Rodney to attend Piedmont Baptist College to earn his Bachelor's.
This is a big jump for our family and many more things need to come together before August 8th. Please be praying for us and with us through this transition time. And be praying for the youth group and how we can make a few more memories with them in these last few weeks.
My heart breaks already for the relationships and people we are going to have to say goodbye to.
2 comments:
Well, now we know what's going on and how we can be praying for you. Exciting! Taking leaps of faith is necessary for us to do and in the end helps us to grow more in our dependence upon the Lord. The "only" negative is that I will have to drive further to see you guys now! Ha ha.
I Will never say Good bye to you I NEVER want to tell you that but I know I'll see you again loves you
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