A New Chapter Unfolds

Hello everybody, and Sunday greetings from the rainy (soon to turn snowy) north. I have enjoyed my Sunday afternoon - napping for several hours while the rain poured down....ahh....now chili is cooking on the stove, and I am going to attempt to sit here and write a blog and catch you up on some big changes that are upcoming. I will try to keep this post from being too long, but I hope you'll read it and enjoy the update of what is happening.

This upcoming week will mark the 2 year "anniversary" of when my husband left, with the explanation that he didn't want to be married anymore. When I think about the fact that two years have passed and remember back to those early days and then see where God has brought me two years later....well, there really aren't words to describe my gratitude and awe. When Jesus began His ministry on earth, He said, among other things, that He had come to bind up the brokenhearted. I've known the faithfulness of God throughout my life, and now I know it in this - He binds up the brokenhearted in ways we can't comprehend.

When Jeff left, I knew that God was faithful, and I knew I had hope in Him, but when you're in the midst of the darkest days, you just simply can't imagine being on the other side. You know it has to somehow be possible and that God is capable of healing, but you just can't fathom being there. And yet, two years later, I feel awake and alive again - that all my senses are again engaged in life, and I'm excited about the present and have hope for the future. That is a miracle that God alone is responsible for.

When everything happened and I had the opportunity to come to Boston with my brother, I knew it was what I needed to do. And even though I made the decision, it was almost like I woke up one day and was here. God has used my time here to heal and restore and redeem, and I have loved everything about being here (well except for maybe the cold lasting so long!!). But now that I am at a place in life where I do feel awake again and like I can make decisions about what is next, I have been contemplating a lot of things - is this where I want to settle long term? What do I want to do in life? What have I been made for?

When I did move, people asked me how long I would be here for, and I always said I didn't know - I'd be here until it was time to not be here. All of this leads me to this announcement: When our lease is up at the end of June, I am going to be moving. Where you might ask? Well....I am going to be moving to Orlando! Nikki and I are going to be roommates, we are going to live close to Jenn & her husband, and I hope to find a job that allows me to utilize some of the creative interests I have, as well as working with people. There are some great churches in the area that I will be able to find a place to get plugged into, it will be warm (HOT!), and I'm really excited to be able to share life with my "sisters".

It will be hard to leave this area - it has become home and I love where I live and the people I share life with. It will be weird to leave brother with him only having one year of school left. And sometimes I can't believe I'm willingly choosing to start over again, go to a new place....but I think it's time and I'm ready, and it's something I want to do.

I plan to enjoy every moment I have here between now and when I leave. There are still a lot of details to work out as it gets closer, and I'll certainly keep you posted. I did want to let you know where things stood, as you have all been a part of this journey of healing, and I will be forever grateful for the encouragement, prayers, and support.

So there you go! If you want to come visit us before I leave, feel free! May and early June will be beautiful. Then you can come to Orlando for a visit, and we can all go to Disney World! There will be many more blogs about this I'm sure, but for now, this is a good start. I hope you have a great week, and I love you guys!