See ya later, not goodbye

This move my family is about to embark on has been anticipated by Robert and myself for about seven years. When Robert and I were engaged at the end of 2003 we would talk about what life could be if campus ministry was God's path for Robert. While Robert was receiving formal educational training at Lipscomb and enjoying an internship with Raiders for Christ I was working a secular full time job and waiting to see what the future would hold. His campus ministry internship ended the summer of 2008, and what awaited Robert was also a full time job in the secular world. We eventually accepted the reality of God's will being a relatively normal life in Murfreesboro, TN. Robert was working for the state and I was continuing my work at one of Nashville's local television stations. We bought our first house in 2009, had our daughter in March of 2010, and then one day Robert received a lead on a campus ministry job in South Carolina.

Now, here we are, at the end of August 2011 diving into a new life in South Carolina. Robert's desires to serve as a campus minister are being fulfilled by God's blessings on our home. It feels SO GOOD! Thank you God. But, at the same time, we're faced with "see ya later's" and inevitable changes to wonderful relationships that we've grown to lean on. Packing our house is exhausting, and the intricacies of renting our TN house and finding a place to live in SC have definitely required the teamwork of Robert and myself. This life change has reminded me of the importance of relationships. I'm so excited to develop new relationships in SC. But I also feel very sad when I think of the changes our current relationships face. These relationships include grandparents who shower affection on JuliAnn (and of course unbelievable support to us), friendships that make our everyday routine so much more fun and exciting, and a church family that meets our spiritual and emotional needs on such a great level that I'm not sure how I can pass through an extended period of time without physically being in their presence. But, this reminds me of Jesus telling the rich man to sell everything he had, give it to the poor, and follow Him. Well, we're not exactly like the rich man in Luke 18 but we are leaving behind the comforts of our present life and following Him. I'm SO excited!!! In this blog, I plan to record what this new life in South Carolina is going to look like for the Gill household.