The light at the end of the tunnel

Reality set in on Monday night when I counted out the months we have left in Philadelphia. A tight knot formed in my stomach with little butterflies surrounding. I'm equally excited and nervous like going on a blind date, although I've never actually been on a blind date. I'm actually glad it's not up to me to figure out where we go next because I'm so fickle. I have a major list of pro's and con's on each potential location. Like it's too far away from family or too close to family.

We worked on our submitted list last night of which included a wide range of locations. Here they are ( I think I remember each one): Honolulu, Santa Barbara, Los Angeles, Portland, New Orleans, Jacksonville (FL), Nashville, Anchorage, Savannah, Charleston, Miami, Houston, Astoria (OR), San Francisco, St. Thomas, St. Croix, and Tampa. I think that concludes the list. We ranked each location 1-55 (each location has a number of jobs listed. So we applied for every job in the cities we could handle getting placed in. More than anything the lack of control makes me want to puke.

If you've been reading my blog for awhile -which basically no one has except for 2-3 random mysterious blog readers- than you would remember when we were waiting to find out where we were being stationed while we lived in Virginia. Post 1. Post 2. Finally, Post 3.  It was a bit different last time as Ted was in school and ranked by number in his class by which he would wait his turn to be able to pick a location off the list. The guy right ahead of Ted in line - whom we forever will dislike - stole our number one pick, Seattle. Seriously I sold him on Seattle sadly by talking of its perks (he always mentioned he wanted east coast only so I thought I was safe gushing over Seattle). I wasn't too happy about Philadelphia but once we unpacked I really have loved it. This gives me hope.

I trust that we will be where we need to be. I hope that it's kid friendly and we find a good community slash church. I pray God helps me cope if it's not exactly what I had in mind. So as we wait until January for our next location announcement and on into the next several months until we actually move, I hope to enjoy our life here. "Wherever you are be all there" quoted by Jim Elliot via pinterest. I love this quote. It speaks a million things to me especially in the season I'm in right now as a new mom and military spouse.

What I'm most thankful for is the past few years of the relationships we have built. It was rocky in the beginning. I think I cried for 1 1/2 years over friendships that seemed to have dissolved from back home. I learned so much in trusting in God in the first two years of marriage as we moved away and settled in. So much was revealed about my heart. I was stretched and as a result I grew. Most importantly this last ten months have been redemption. I speak for both of us (Ted and I) when I say we hit the sweet spot of our life in Philadelphia. We had that 'we are right were we are suppose to be' moment and it has just grown with time.

The bumps in the road are normal and we fully except there to be more over the years. It's life and we embrace it. Grace finds us each time. God is faithful, always. I truly believe that. That is what keeps my heart at ease.