Beginning...again

7:30 am Pacific time finds me eating a delicious apple and sitting in my living room trying to cool off in front of the AC.  It's not particularly hot outside yet, but between my sunburn and trying to let the desert air cool the bedroom last night I'm ready for some climate control.  Today is my first day in our new home...a little duplex nestled into the hills of Wofford Heights, California.  Among the strangest parts of the move are the fact that my zip code starts with the number 9, the fact that forrest fire development and surf levels are part of the evening news, and the fact that I was ready, even eager, to roll out of bed at 7 this morning (thank you Pacific time zone).  Everything else just feels a bit foreign...except for being with my husband after a 5 week absence.  His presence has been more steadying and a greater joy to me than I could possibly have imagined.

Yesterday as we drove through the California countryside, enjoying mountains, ocean views, orange fields, vineyards, and more types of cactus than I knew existed, we began talking about the fact that a sort of "reset" button has been pushed on our lives.  We have a greater sense of starting over now than we may ever have.  Matt's new job here at Kern Valley High School is a completely new world: replacing the show choir and competition heavy Mt Zion with a school that can hardly comprehend the idea of a "music program."  In the past these kids have taken one year of band to get their fine arts credit needed for college, but have probably never participated long enough to truly improve musically. My job is still very much up in the air but will absolutely be a new experience.  We will search for a new church, new friends, new restaurants, new activities on evenings we are bored.  Although we feel a bit thrust into this new experience we also realize that without some intentionality we will be quickly established in habits and comfort level.  And so we made a list of a few goals for our time here:

1) Find a church where we can serve together
2) Use the great outdoors we have access to (water sports on the reservoir in our town, sequoias to the north, hiking everywhere we look) for regular exercise together.
3) Make hospitable extensions to those we meet and form friendships with a variety of people
4) Get to the beach as often as possible

I made a few goals just for me as well, and one of them involves taking more time for reflection.  A few months ago, on a whim, I remembered this blog and went to the site.  I realized with some awe that I haven't written here since the night before I started PA school 3+ years ago.  Sure, I've done some private journaling especially at times of significance or crisis, but the day to day events that make up a life have gone largely undocumented and unanalyzed in the high paced tunnel that is the past few years.      PA school, graduation, wedding, getting my first job, Casey's wedding, ending my first job, and the call to move across the country have come and gone, seemingly in one large rush without time to stop and observe.  Grad school would hardly have afforded such time, and as we approach our first anniversary I realize how life in Decatur did not offer much "extra space" in which to think or process on my own.  As much as I loved living 4 miles from my parents and with Matt's family (and our new nephew) just a few minutes further, I know we have taken less time together and alone than might be healthy.  Here in California I know that loneliness will be a reality on a frequent basis, but I also recognize that some isolation may afford me what I have been lacking: time with my own thoughts...time to really listen to God's call on my life...and the space to observe the way he can redeem the mundane and seemingly meaningless into Kingdom significant events.  And so, on this first Tuesday in September I return to this webpage in the hopes that spending some time here will be fulfilling for me and perhaps a bit informative for you.  Either way I pray that we would learn to spend our time here in a way that is pleasing to our maker.

Wanted to share a few pics from our mini-vacation to Ventura this weekend.  Matt wisely discerned that we would need some extra time together in a completely relaxing environment after being apart for so long, so he picked me up from the airport and headed to the beach.  We stayed in a diamond in the rough motel he found just a half mile from Ventura pier.  The Crystal Lodge looks like it may be straight out of a fugitive movie from the outside, but the sweet Indian family who run it were delightful, and the room was lovely, spacious, and included a hot tub.  We spent long hours taking in the views, had an incredible romantic seafood dinner on the pier, and relished every moment of the fresh newness of being together again.

On Monday we drove up Route 1 to Santa Barbara and enjoyed brunch, shopping, and beach time.  We also found a place that sold some of our favorite toys: stunt kites.  One of our very first great dates was at a kite festival in Dekalb, and since then we have always wanted to try these again.  The winds and the excited children watching on the beach made it a memorable event...and I only nose-dived into the sand twice.

We drove into our town of 2,000 in the dark last night, with Matt pointing out the sites to me: the post office, the antique store, the store simply titled "Stuff", the one-screen movie theater, Charlie's Market (Charlie is a well-known member of the community, we are told that his good opinions are central to ones social standing here), and a few of the churches Matt has visited.  Walking into a completely new place where your possessions have been for a month but which you have never seen is a strange experience...but there is something very exhilarating about being home.  We have no idea why we were called to this little burg in the middle of the desert, but we are certain that we were called.  We have no doubts that God has designed this place to include us for at least the foreseeable future.  And I am thankful to finally be through the painful goodbyes to the familiar and loved, and ready to put my feet down on solid ground.  I pray for confidence and faith as I claim this new place as home.

Today will consist mostly of unpacking the vast array of boxes and piles.  Matt put the kitchen mostly together when he moved out but otherwise our possessions are much lacking attention.  The house is much larger than our apartment in Decatur, and plainer too in some ways...it will take some creativity and time to make it home.  My favorite parts of it so far are the large eat-in kitchen with lots of natural light, and our tiny "back porch" (really just a strip of land between the building and the property line) from which the milky way and a brilliant patch of twinkling stars are visible.

8:30 Pacific time, and one small goal accomplished.