It's Official

The announcement was made this morning.  Sam is being reappointed this year to Hiawassee United Methodist Church in beautiful Hiawassee, Ga located in the North Georgia mountains.  If you don't know where that is, it is just north of Blairsville and Young Harris.  It's very close to the Georgia/North Carolina border.  We are very excited about this opportunity.  However, I have to admit that I cried for 3 days once we got the news from our district superiendent.  We were certainly prepared and even requested this move, but I did not know what to expect as far as location goes.  When I learned that we would be moving to a rural setting, I immediately flashed back to my 2 1/2 years in rural Kentucky.  That was the only thing this suburban Townelake girl had to compare it to.  Our Kentucky years, while we served a student appointment, were very dark for me.  It was a really hard time because Sam traveled back and forth to school 3 days every week and left me at home with Ashlyn who was just a baby at the time.  We gave up our on-campus Asbury experience to serve two rural churches to make ends meet and because it was highly suggested by our conference officials.

I was so isolated and no matter what I tried, I could not break into the social structure there.  Everyone had lived there their whole lives and were just born into their social networks.  They did not need things like MOMS Club or MOPS to connect with each other, so there were no groups like that.  There were days that I would walk across the parking lot from the parsonage to the church and realize that I had not left the house since the previous Sunday.  I am convinced that is the reason Ashlyn could speak clear as day the moment she said her first word.  For several days of the week, she was the only person there for me to talk to! 

Anyway, all I could think of was that experience.  I did not want to go back to that place again.  After getting the call within a few mintues, I was scouring the internet looking for mom support groups and preschools for the kids.  God is so great because I found both of those things.  I got up the next morning and e-mailed the MOPS group and got a very quick response.  The first mom I talked to has SIX kids.  God is good!  She was a wealth of information and encouragement and also put me in touch with someone else in the group who directed me to a preschool.  I called the preschool and secured the only 2 spaces left for Aiden and Anna.  Again, God is so good!

Then, my worry turned to the parsonage.  After contacting our DS to get more information we recieved word that the house has 4 bedrooms, 3 1/2 bathrooms, a living room, a dinning room, a den, a full basement, pastor's study, and TWO ovens in the kitchen.  It has a big front porch and sits on 5 acres, 3 of them wooded. It sounds like this house was made for us.   Again, God is so so good!  

The more and more I talk to people about the area, the more I know we will love it.  It seems to be a very close knit and caring community.  Lake Chatuge runs through the whole town.  The boys will love fishing there with their dad and we will all love going to the beach and swimming.  The kids are already discussing what tree the tire swing will hang from.  There are Upward Sports, a spectacular public library, a public pool, several summer Bible camps, a MOPS group, a Cub Scout pack, and a great homeschool co-op/network.  I have been wrestling with a call to homeschooling for several years, so after much prayer and discussion we decided this week to go ahead with our homeschool plans for the fall after contacting the co-op up there.  We have also been told that there are other large families in the area.  Everyone I have contacted has been so welcoming and full of resources and information.  The Georgia Mountain Fairgrounds are there as well, and I am excited to check out the weekly farmer's market and produce stands.  What I am learning is that just because a place is rural does not always mean that there is nothing going on there.  I'm looking forward to my kids having the opportunity to experience a slower paced more wholesome way of living away from the hustle and bustle of metro Atlanta.  Sometimes what we think we want is not always what we need. 

As we prepare to leave Waleska UMC, I find myself reflecting over the past 5 years.  It certainly has been a rocky road from day one.  We learned late in the appointment making process that we were moving and the church was none too happy to loose their pastor and recieve a new one.  So, our start here was rough.  I do believe that many of our problems over our time here stem from that one thing.  I also believe that in our Methodist system, sometimes there can be just a bad match.  As hard as this appointment has been, I can finally say that I am grateful for the experience.  I never thought I would be able to say that, but I can now.  It truly has changed our family and our perspective on ministry and our calling.  It has helped us to identify our passions and zero in on what and who we are called to. 

One of those things is family ministry.  Sam and I never set out to have 5 children.  It is certianly something that God has led us to and that we have grown into.  We have a passion for reaching into the lives of families in crisis.   After all, there were several times over the past 5 years that our own family was in crisis.  I can talk about it now, but it is hard to admit that there were several times that thoughts of walking away from my marriage entered my head.  Not because I did not love my husband and my marriage dearly, but because I was buckling under the pressure of his calling. At times I just did not want this life.  It was too hard!   I look back and am baffled by how we were able to function through some of that.  All I can say is that God literally carried us through.  I picture in my mind, Him scooping us up in His arms and carrying us to the other side.  What other explaination is there?  By all accounts, we should be finished.  The things we have been through have completely destroyed other clergy families.  We know of people that it has happened to;  broken marriages and rebellious angry children who walk away from the church all together.  I am so grateful for His Grace!  I believe He saved my marriage and my family.  The least I can do in return is be available and open to reaching out to other families that need Him.  The family was the first institution that God created.  Sadly, I feel like the enemy and our society is slowly attacking this institution in so many ways.  It's our foundation. If the enemy can weaken or collapse the foundation then he thinks he has won and can devour more souls. However, we know that Jesus has already claimed victory!  I pray that our family can do our part for the foundation of the family and play a small role in building God's Kingdom!

God has also given us a vision for teaching children about the Lord and the Bible and equipping parents to instill biblical truths into their children.  Our society has become so biblically illiterate.  Not only that, but we just don't believe what the Bible says or that it even applies to us anymore.  God's Word is relevant yesterday, today, and tomorrow.  We are praying about it, but one day we would love to see this vision turn into some kind of non profit ministry to work to instill biblical literacy in children.  We even have some ideas for a name for that ministry. 

So, as we depart and say good bye to our current ministry post, Waleska UMC, I choose to take the lessons that I have learned here and the wonderful memories of the people who have supported us and loved us, but also to leave my saddness, disappointment, hurt, and anger as I go.  This week I have felt the burdens and baggage that I have been carrying for so so very long start to be lifted from my shoulders.  I have been very angry for far too long!  God has used every difficult and hurtful situation to strengthen me for His work.  I still have a very long way to go, but I have learned so much and I am so grateful for what He is doing in my life and the lives of my husband and my children!  I can't wait to see what He has in store for our ministry in Hiawassee!  One thing I know for sure is that we were faithful to our calling at Waleska and I can see clearly how He is rewarding and blessing our faithfulness in moving forward!

God is so good!