The One with our Full Year Here

I just can't believe it, but it is most definitely true. Today marks our one year anniversary since moving to Western New York! With tears we said goodbye to our teens and our friends in Michigan, and with the help of those same people as well as our family we loaded a UHaul and drove 7 hours east to a part of New York State that is closer to the Midwest than it is to the city. 

All those days ago sometimes feel like a lifetime--mostly because we've been warmly embraced here, settled comfortably and intimately into our little village, connecting to more people (in and out of the church) than we can count. We've been taken care of in so many ways by our friends here, and we are eternally grateful for the love they've poured on us and that they opened their lives so willingly to us. God is so good. 

And most of the time we forget we got here because of Seminary. It's pretty awesome to see the steps God used to pull us to this place, when we thought the whole point was an MDiv. If it were up to us, we'd had lived near campus and found who knows what jobs. But God is so much cooler than that. He is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us. 

Kevin's grad school is a very important reason we're in New York, of course. He's loving his classes, his professors, his shelves and shelves of rich literature. But our lives are centered around our church, the people, in this little town--his studies in action, really. His responsibilities go well beyond the confines of the youth room, but a passion working with teenagers is one of those things we can't seem to shake. And now, a year later, we feel confident that we're getting somewhere (somewhere good) with these students. It takes a while to build a strong foundation of a relationship, but it's worth it. 

Who would've guessed what the past 365 days would bring for me? 

playing in the high school musical's pit orchestra. 

building a strong piano studio (that has provided income, relationships, and community connections).

leading music at VBS.

traveling to Seattle with a wonderful group of Bible Quizzers. 

hosting my first studio piano recital. 

running my first race. 

blowing my personal best race time out of the water with my second race. 

developing the deepest kind of friendship with a girl named Sheryl. 

going on a family vacation with Sheryl and her siblings and their kids.

And now we look ahead, with eager expectation, knowing that God will continue to do more than we can ask or imagine. Amen.

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