Big Transitions

As of three weeks ago, Bob transitioned out of his full-time job at our church, Redeemer Fellowship. The timing of this transition was sudden, but not entirely unexpected, as he's wrestled for the last couple of months with the direction Redeemer wants to take his position, and whether that direction was a good fit for him. While we are heartbroken and still have processing to do, we trust God's care over our lives and the direction of Redeemer.

So what's next?

Well, we aren't entirely sure. We can tell you we plan to stay at Redeemer. It's our church home, our best friends are there, and what God is doing through Redeemer for the good of his people and the benefit of our city is undeniable.

We can also tell you that, for the time being, Bob will stay home with the kids while I work full-time outside the home.

Almost immediately after Bob's transition out of his staff role at Redeemer, God overwhelmed him with construction opportunities. This, in addition to his skills and current desires, is leading him to consider rebuilding his construction business with the hope of doing for others what he did to our home. We still find value in one parent being home with our young kids, though. Which is why the plan (and we know how perfectly those play out) would be for Bob to do a few projects here and there until Brooks is in school, then launch his business. We aren't sure if Bob will go back into vocational ministry. We are, however, excited to jump into Redeemer as lay members who continue to build up the body.

As for me: At the time everything happened for Bob there was a full-time opening within my old company, EPR Properties, that I accepted. Before staying home with the kids, I spent 5 years at EPR. I can't think of a better group of people to come back to. They're also giving me the space and encouragement to think through what role I'd like to hold long-term within the company (or possibly outside of it) and what it would look like to get me there. Nothing has been promised, and I still feel uncertain which career path to pursue, but I'm excited by the prospects.

If you want to know how you can pray for us, please pray that our next steps would become clear and that as we deal with very real human emotions, we would do so unashamedly with our community. We know we aren't the only ones who have dealt with huge changes or unmet expectations. God has proven he's strong enough to carry us through these things, and his presence working through his people is what we need to help carry our load--a huge thanks to those who have been doing just that!

While this is not how we would have written our story, and we're still quite raw as we step into our new reality, we can say with all assurance that God's kindness and goodness have overwhelmed us.

Thanks for all of your love and support!