What now, what next

Each day, opportunity awaits. Just about 12 months ago I gained a husband, left a job and a life, and moved a state away. This was no small thing for a 35-year-old, but I knew it was completely right. It even felt inevitable.

We're still madly in love, although the oxytocin bonding hormone has cooled a bit. You can't sit staring googly-eyed at each other forever. At some point, you carry your love outward, channeling it into meaningful pursuits. It is that time.

I couldn't have envisioned this place at all a year ago. I had to find my way, for sure. But now, a new frontier stretches before me. I am ready to stretch my wings, to find the place God has for me. To use my gifts of teaching, encouragement, writing, and leadership to the fullest. No holding back. It feels as if there are no restraints or reservations, just a blank slate stretching before us, beckoning us to trust that God will show us the way.

He's already steered us toward seminary for me, providing some scholarship money, building the excitement in my heart. This Sunday I become a member of our Nazarene congregation--something entirely new for me, but something that feels perfectly natural and right.

In five months, I'll be plopped down in seminary classes, inhaling the knowledge that comes from studying on a deeper level, discovering more about God and his purposes for us. Along the way, I'll continue to teach and to encourage as opportunity presents itself. I'd love to write more and to speak about all of the amazing things God continues to reveal to me on my journey.

I'm so thankful for this life, so thankful for David, so thankful for whatever this future ministry holds. I can't wait to get started, to move forward, to be obedient.

But before I can do that, I have to pause. I have to thank God for more blessings than I count. First, I stand grateful for the direction God has given us. I want to thank the husband for his full support and encouragement as I seek God's calling on my life. A few years ago on this blog, I wondered in writing what it would be like to be "one of two." There was longing in my heart--a longing that has been satisfied. Now I long for whatever God has for me as I stretch my wings. Onward . . .

"Hope" by Emily Dickinson

Hope is the thing with feathers 
That perches in the soul, 
And sings the tune--without the words, 
And never stops at all,

And sweetest in the gale is heard; 
And sore must be the storm 
That could abash the little bird 
That kept so many warm.

I've heard it in the chillest land, 
And on the strangest sea; 
Yet, never, in extremity, 
It asked a crumb of me.