Highlights, Lessons and Blessings From the Past Five Months

In June, we packed a trailer and set off for the great state of Kentucky with a lot of uncertainty but a great deal of faith.

Five months later, we still have some uncertainty but the faith remains.

I cannot possibly recount everything from the past five months, and I would rather not bore our readers, so I’ll just list for you a few highlights, lessons and blessings.

Highlights

• We moved into a wonderful townhome in the heart of Saint Matthews (a neighborhood in Louisville). The views are great and the rent is…well…a little higher than we care for, but the peaceful neighborhood is worth it.
• Matt took two classes in the summer– History of the Baptists and Discipleship and Family Ministry–both of which he made A’s in–quite an accomplishment for master-level classes!
• For the first 3 months, I stayed at home and searched for a job. I maintained part-time work with The Seed Company to bring in some income.
• In August, Matt began taking four fall semester classes: Greek, Systematic Theology, Church History and the Cooperative Program.
• In August, I began taking a class called “Spiritual Disciplines,” through the Seminary Wives Institute.
• In September, I started a job at a company, which does homecare, residential services, job training and other such things for people with mental and physical disabilities. I am now the Communications Coordinator, and I do internal communications for the company.
• Matt has traveled back to Dallas for work three times.
• For the past couple of months, we have searched for another place to live with lower rent. All the possible options we found either don’t accept pets, would increase my work commute by a great amount or are in unsafe neighborhoods. Needless to say, after much prayer and research, we opted to re-sign our lease for another 10 months.
• Since we moved to Louisville, we have been actively searching for a church home. On Nov. 13, we prayerfully decided to Hurstbourne Baptist Church, which is a short drive from our home.

Lessons

Again, there are too many to count! But I’ll list a few that come to mind immediately:

• Finding a church home is not easy – Matt and I both attended just a couple of churches through our lifetime and had never really “visited” churches before. Some churches were very welcoming but didn’t have opportunities for ministry we were hoping for, while others were just flat-out unwelcoming. We both agree that whatever church we are part of, we never, ever want someone to feel unwelcomed.
• Making friends in a new place is challenging – We were also shocked by how difficult it has been to make friends. Praise God we feel like we are finally building relationships with people. Overall, people do not seem to be as friendly as we are used to in the South.
• We are not traditional seminary students – Of course, no seminary students look alike, but for the most part many of them do share similar life circumstances. Many have or are trying to have children. Both spouses rarely work full-time, and they usually live on campus. With both of us working full-time, not having children and living 10 minutes from campus, it makes it challenging to connect with other students.
• Balancing work and seminary classes is difficult – This applies especially for Matt. There is little rest for him between work and school. His Greek teacher has a slogan that goes like this, “Everyday is Greek Day!” And he is not joking. Nearly every day Matt has his flash cards, his white board and his Greek book out, trying to master the language. Somehow he manages to fit in his other three classes, too. I try to help where I can, but help often means just staying out of the way to let him focus, or making cookies for motivation.
• Finding a place in ministry takes time and patience – This has probably been one of the most challenging lessons for us. We are both eager to serve in ministry, but the opportunities don’t just throw themselves at you. You have to wait and pray for them to come. Matt longs to preach and play music. I long to work with younger girls. While we do look forward do doing those things and pray for opportunities to come, we have learned just to wait and listen for the Lord’s guidance.

Blessings

Yet again, something I cannot list every piece of because there are just far too many.

• My job – It isn’t always easy, but I love the ability to work  with all types of people. And it is a true blessing to have enough income so we can save for our future.
• The Seed Company – Grateful is not a big enough word for how we can describe our feelings toward The Seed Company. They have been incredibly flexible with Matt’s school. He is able to go to class on Tuesday and Thursday mornings and still put in 40-hours a week. Plus, he gets some reimbursement for his tuition and books. For me, writing with the company helps remind me how the Bible is having an impact around the world.
• Our families – Our families are all so supportive and loving. Though we don’t get to see them much, we still know they love and care for us by all of our phone conversations
• SBTS – The seminary is a great place. Matt is continuing to grow in his knowledge of the Bible, and I am able to grow in my faith through the SWI class.
• Newfound friends – Though making friends hasn’t been easy, the Lord brought a wonderful couple in our life who we are extremely grateful for. We met Dave and Deborah at a church we visited. Though we didn’t stay at that church, our friendship continued. We have had many dinners, great conversations and laughs together. We also sense new relationships forming through our church and in our neighborhood.
• Beautiful nature  –  We both love spending time outside and have had many opportunities to go camping, hiking and bike riding because of the great parks here. It is both relaxing and refreshing to spend time outdoors, and we are grateful for the many opportunities and parks available to do that.

We continue to covet your prayers! We miss having family and familiar friends around, but we are grateful for the opportunites we have to learn and grow in new and exciting ways.