Monday, July 30, 2018

20 Years and Counting

20 years ago this month, my husband and I moved up north to start a new chapter in our lives.  My husband was a fresh seminary graduate, and we had been married just two years.  We moved in the hot July humidity, trudging our newish wedding-present-decor and our used, garage-sale furniture into our new apartment.  Several people from our new congregation helped us, and our new life as "Pastor and Mrs." began.

And here we are, 20 years later, still in this place, still with those same people who helped us move in that day, and still excited about ministry here.  When we moved that day, young and naive, I would never have imagined that we would stay in our first call so long; indeed, none of my husband's seminary classmates are in their first call, we are the only ones to have remained in ours.

Yet here we are, and I am so thankful for God's goodness in this place.  From the very beginning, we have been enveloped in love, and that is still true.  I recall in those first weeks the groceries given to us, the furniture, the help getting settled into our new town, and more.  And as time passed, and we began to make friends here, we realized just how blessed we were by the people of our new congregation.

As our family grew, and through both happy and sad times, the people of Trinity have rejoiced with us, cried with us, and loved us.  And we in turn have grieved with these people, ached with them at times.  And other times, we have celebrated with them, hearts full.

On that hot July day 20 years ago, I don't think I could have imagined the blessings God had in store for us. He has provided us with a true family -- one who loves us, supports us and cares for us. I am often overwhelmed with love for God's people here - they are all precious gifts from God.


I thank my God in all my remembrance of you,  always in every prayer of mine for you all making my prayer with joy, because of your partnership in the gospel from the first day until now.  And I am sure of this, that he who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ.
Phil. 1:3-6

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

And we're so happy you're here too! I remember when you guys came and how excited we were for you to be here. Oh, and that you had a hard time staying up past about 8:30 pm! lol . Love you all!