I am afraid you will have to deal with reminiscing and rumenating this week. You see, it was four years ago this week that we packed up our house in Texas and moved to the Coastal Plains of Carolina. Hubby and I have never lived in a place more than four years as a couple. We did as children, growing up in what is now considered our "hometown." Hubby's family moved to his hometown when he was about four years old, and my family still lives in the same small county as ever. This constant moving--7 big moves in 18 years of marriage--is not something we ever expected. We did actually manage to live in one home for four years and two months, but the entire last year that we were there, we knew we would be moving. You live your life differently when you know you won't be staying. I won't lie. This has been a hard year for our family. We don't really know how to live in a place this long, with no intention of leaving. Even #1 picked up on it and worried for a while that this would be the end of another chapter. Hubby and I have struggled with the new stages that our friendships have taken. Our perspective even on the town has surprised us, as we have watched it change over these four years. We even had trouble knowing whom to cheer when the university played our alma mater! When we came here we were so burned out there wasn't even a scent of smoke in the air. Our last city had been a test in tenacity, especially for Hubby. After we moved to Arlington, the church that hired Hubby decided they didn't want to do campus ministry anymore. We felt God calling us to stick it out, and to help the ministry pull away from its original church to become a non-profit, board-run entity. We were faithful to that calling, and successful in starting that new form of administration, but it was very stressful. We actually spent the last nine months of that position looking for a new one. That isn't quite fair to say, as we had found this position after about three months, but the church here wasn't ready to make that committment to us. I knew that this was the place for us just by reading the questionnaire. Gone were the questions of doctrine and how we read the Bible, gone were the questions of what kind of "Minister's Wife" I would be. Instead it was full of questions about how we live out our Christianity. We had been disappointed by the church that hired us in Arlington. We had been let down by those we thought were brothers and sisters in Christ. We had been tossed aside like worthless rag dolls. We walked on eggshells so as not to make things worse. And now here was a church asking us how we plan to live as a child of God. I am crying now as I remember that relief. What a thought...asking a minister and his family how they behave like Christians, and what impact Christ has had on their lives. Even so, we moved with a wall. I brought a thick, brick wall with me from Texas. I wasn't sure I could trust these people; I had been let down before. I even hired a guard to stand at the top of the wall and watch for the enemy to poke his head out. I told one man that I would give the church two years. I was sure they would let us down in that time. Something would show up to prove to me again that Christians are often "in word only." But it didn't happen. Yes, I have been let down, but I know to expect that. The congregation has failed us, and I am certain we have failed the congregation. But that has only been in our human dealings with each other. In our spiritual matters, the church has been a blessing. The idea of living like a Christian, and being accountable to that ideal, is still very real. It takes a long time time to heal from the kind of hurts that we received in Texas. But I would say that our family is mended now, and ready to see what a stable life in one town can be like. I will likely think of this verse a lot this week, but it is so appropriate: For this world is not our home; we are looking forward to our city in Heaven, which is yet to come. Hebrews 13:14 But while we wait for our Heavenly Home, this city suits just fine.