I Hope You Like Spinach!

I only eat my spinach raw, not out of a can, so I hope that I fit in okay. Why does this matter? My husband received his first call to be an assistant pastor in Chester, IL, the home of Popeye. Yes, the main this Chester is known for is that the Popeye cartoonist lived there. They have a Popeye festival every year, in fact. So, in a couple of months, we will be loading up a moving van and heading about 70 miles south to Chester.
While I am excited about the call, I am also nervous. Chester is different from any place I have ever lived. I am a city girl. We won't be super far from St. Louis, but the fact that I'll need to drive 45 minutes to find a Target is a bit frightening.
One of the hymns the choir sang at the call service keeps running through my head.
"Christ be my leader by night as by day,
Safe through the darkness for He is the way.
Gladly I follow my future His care.
Darkness is daylight when Jesus is there.'
Written by Christopger Dudley-Smith

It's Finally Here!

It's officially Call Day. It's only hours before the service. As I write this, my students are eating lunch, happily giggling and joking and completely oblivious to the importance of this day for me. I, on the other hand, am an internal anticipatory wreck. My stomach is tied in knots, and I'm currently glad that I packed a light lunch today.
Approximately 7 hours from now, I will finally know the information I have been waiting more than 4 years to know where Pete will get to be a pastor. While we think we might know where we are going, my presuppositions could change in an instant tonight. Even if they aren't, the journey ahead is still unknown.
"Be strong and courageous. Do not be terrified, do not be discouraged, for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go." (Joshua 1:9)

The Beginning of the End, or the End of the Begnning?

I can use many different words to define myself. I am a teacher, a reader, a traveler, a Master's student, a writer, a lover of cooking and good food, and an independent woman. Oh, yes, I am an an almost-pastor's wife.
Growing up, I never ever imagined or wanted to be a pastor's wife. I like stability and the abililty to plan. Our vacation plans include a down to the hour (or sometimes minute!) itinerary that are planned months in advance. (I get this from my mother.) So, the last thing I ever wanted was to marry someone planning to have an unpredictable life. However, I fell in love with a pre-seminary student and married him just before he started seminary. Almost 4 years after getting married, we are at the end of his seminary education, with Call Day (the day he finds out his first placement) only 6 days away. We then have about 2 months to find housing (and close on our first house if it is a possiblilty), find myself a job, and move our entire lives. Did I mention that we are going on vacation in Great Britain for two weeks of that time frame? This is driving the planner in me nuts. Pete is not even a pastor yet, and I am already frustrated by the ministry life.
However, I do know one thing. God can work in any situation. Even if the call we get is not what we would consider ideal, God can still do good work anywhere. In the week before Call Day, Jeremiah 29:11 resonates: "'For I know the plans I have for you,' declares the Lord, 'plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you a hope and a future.'" (NIV) Even if I don't know the plan, there is someone who does. And that gives comfort.