Life in the SC

Its hard to believe that Sonja and I moved down here to SC over a month and a half ago. It has definitely been the busiest month and a half of my life, and while it has been pretty difficult at times, it has also brought its share of blessings, by the hand of our God, who loves us and has been faithful to us through all the strangeness and craziness involved in our transplant from PA. Sonja and I have struggled with some difficult things since we have been here. But we both realized Sunday that we need to be careful not to complain (or being a “malcontent”- See book of Jude), but to count our blessings.

So, by means of an update, I decided to list some of the blessings we enjoyed since our arrival in SC.

1) The Daily Grind?- I am really enjoying my job. I don’t know if the church here is enjoying me (I know for certain that they, especially the youth groupers, are enjoying Sonja), but I am enjoying the fact that I am not juggling both full-time school as well as church work. The last few weeks I have realized what a blessing it is to be here working with Pastor Bob Selph, Pastor Chad Clint, Chris Marley (Summer Intern), and Penelope Cansler & Lorna Riles (our church secretaries). I really have a ton of respect for these people. And, surprise, I didn’t expect working at Grace to be this busy, but also not this much fun. The RYM trip really was a blast, and its been a lot of fun to teach both HS Sunday School (racing through the book of Jude), as well as begin doing our Wednesday night youth group (talking about passages in which Jesus surprises us). The downside of enjoying this is that it makes me miss my friends at FRBC in Media all the more.

2) Rekindling a Romance- I have also gotten to spend quality time with my wife which has been wonderful. Our anniversary getaway, which though it only lasted 2 days and 2 nights, was such a wonderful vacation for just the two of us. The last couple weeks, as we have shopped for houses together, enjoyed escaping together, sat on the front porch together, gotten threatened with a lawsuit together, and done youth group together, I think we have both realized that while we at times get annoyed with each other, we really do enjoy each other and we really are in this for the long haul. To have a wife, who is as faithful and loyal (and beautiful) as my wife, is a huge blessing. It is when that faithfulness and loyalty is tested by difficult circumstances (inability to find a house, leaving family, friends, and job behind, etc), that it’s true worth is proven. I love my wife. And even better: my wife loves me and has followed me to the ends of the earth (ok, SC as a state isn’t that bad, but its been pretty hot and humid here lately).

3) God’s Gracious Timing- I am so thankful that I got to spend a few weeks with my granddad before he passed away last Tuesday. Right up until the end, Grandpa was himself- a funny, happy man who stubbornly trusted his God, loved his Savior, and longed to depart this world for the next. I loved when I got to read the Psalms to him in his last days. I loved that he prayed for me aloud three weeks ago that I would be a faithful preacher and teacher of God’s word. I loved when a few weeks ago, I walked into his room, thinking he was asleep (his eyes were closed), took him by the hand, and he jumped, opened his eyes, squeezed my hand, and with comic disappointment said, “Aw, I was hoping you were Jesus.” J I loved how my grandma refused to let anyone else take care of grandpa even in the last, most difficult hours, and said, “I’ve taken care of him for over 50 years. Why would anyone think I’d want to quit doing it now?” That is a Christ-like covenant faithfulness we rarely see in our society.

4) Common Taste- One thing Sonja and I have been amazed at as we have house hunted and perused possible places of abode, is that we have such similar tastes. We really do like all the same stuff (with regard to houses, room décor, and fabric for re-upholstering our “Craig’s-list” dining room set). I think that has surprised us both, but it has been very encouraging as I don’t think we’ve had one argument about any of this stuff. (though we have argued about a lot of other stuff J).

5) Zaxby’s Chicken- Yeah, this one seems a little bit trite, but Wow, this chicken is better than Chick-fil-a. Sorry Christy Thawley, you know I love CFA, but I forgot how good Zaxby’s Chicken is. Especially with their Zax’ sauce. Unbeatable.

6) Good Help- Our real estate agent (Pat Smith) has been incredible. Despite the fact that we dragged her through 50 some odd houses, and now both she and us are threatened by lawsuits because of some jerks at Keystone Homes, Pat has been the most faithful, gracious, humorous, and tasteful agent I could possibly imagine. I firmly believe she would go to hell and back for us if she thought it would benefit us. Sonja and I have thoroughly enjoyed and benefited from her knowledge, insight, patience, and simple good taste.

7) God’s Patience- One other huge blessing that Sonja and I have enjoyed is God’s patience in teaching us and patiently enduring our slowness to learn and trust. Both Sonja and I have really been forced to call out to God in a lot of ways for a lot of things since moving down here. And in some big ways, like our housing situation for example, he has yet to answer like we asked.

Surprisingly though, it has been such a blessing for us to struggle with some of these hard things. It has caused both of us to question our own hearts and ask, “why do we love and follow Jesus Christ?” Simply put, “do I love him just because of the nice things he gives me, or do I love him for who he is?” Do I just love the gifts, or do I actually delight even more in the Giver, when the gifts don’t always come out like I want? I know we haven’t been through anything that would qualify as an “excruciating trial.” But it has caused both of us to remember that we love him because he first loved us. Even when he doesn’t give me what I want, will I remain faithful, or will I get bitter and turn away?

I think I am learning about what it means to both trust Jesus for who he says he is, and also to just delight in him. Is my God, Jesus Christ, truly the delight of my heart, or am I just using him to get what I really want? Hopefully, I am being tested and proven faithful. Anyway, its been a good time of re-centering, though not easy.

So, even though we have felt truly stressed and weighed down with quite a few heavy burdens, we are finding some blessings in the midst of the craziness of it all. God will be faithful to us in his timing, which is better than ours.