12 Days!

John 15:1-2
     I am the true vine, and my Father is the gardener. He cuts off every branch in me that bears no fruit, while every branch that does bear fruit he prunes so that it will be even more fruitful.

This last Sunday, our speaker used this passage in John to speak about pain. He pointed out that pruning hurts. Unfortunately, that is the reality of the Christian life. It's not all rainbows and butterflies. It's hard and hurts sometimes. Considering that I spent the last half of the sermon crying my eyes out, it's safe to say I really identified with this talk.

We leave for Elkhart, Indiana on July 25th. Twelve days. I never thought leaving would be this hard. It feels a bit like my heart is being torn in two, one half wanting to stay in Spokane, the other excited and ready for our adventure in Indiana. How do I reconcile that? I am grieving so deeply for what I am losing, that the joy of what I am going to is lost or unseen. But I think that is my process right now. I don't think I have ever cried this much in my whole life. Thankfully, I am blessed with an amazing and patient husband who lets me cry on his shoulder and understands that I need to cry. I have never lived farther than half an hour from home, and when I did, I still went home every other weekend. I value my family alot, and have a close relationship to my parents. Realizing I can't go over and spend an afternoon talking to my mom or shopping with my sister is brutally hard. I know that it could be worse, that there is worse pain out there, but for me, this is what I am dealing with.

On the other hand, Caleb and I are incredibly excited to move to Elkhart and begin a new life there. Make a difference in kids' lives, meet new friends that know us as a couple rather than individuals, learn to grow and depend on each other, have a new home that we don't barely fit in. It's a great, God-willed adventure that we are ready to take on. Caleb's ready to take on the challenge of a new job and create talks for the upcoming school  year. He is happy to play basketball all the time again, while I am happy to watch him play. We are a little nervous about finding a new church, especially because we love our church here, but God is good and wants his best for us. We are making our 32-hour drive into a sightseeing trip, stopping to see Yellowstone, Mt. Rushmore, and the town I was born in. Elkart, you better get ready for us! Because we are coming!!

A couple things you can pray for:
  - That we can get everything packed and fitted into the ReloCube we are shipping across the country
  - That we can sell Caleb's car, our dining room table, our tv, and desk
  - Our apartment to be rented out by August 1st so we don't have to continue paying rent
  - That we can continually seek out God for direction and encouragement
  - Support will continue to come in.

OH! We are having a going-away party Friday the 22nd at New Community Church starting at 6. Please come by if you can to say goodbye to us and we can see you one last time. Love you all!
The Stantons