A little bit of stress

Well, we have to be honest and say that we're starting to feel the stress of all that is going on in our lives right now. We have tried to be as proactive as possible to get as much done before this "crunch time" as we could, but there are just some things that have to be tackled now. A lot, actually. We definitely feel like we're operating mostly out of the urgent and not so much out of the things we'd rather prioritize.

We also didn't anticipate the emotional stress we'd be feeling, as we prepare to leave Houston. We love Houston! We love our church, our neighborhood, the city. It is so hard to say good-bye! My best friend visited last week from Washington D.C. I have no idea when I'll see her again. Saying good-bye caught me off guard. We're having to actively "grieve" all we're leaving behind. . .not the material things but the relationships. We still see our departure as far away. It's not that far away anymore.

We will leave Houston in about six weeks for X-Track, our International Training program. If our house sells (another source of stress, we hate to admit!), we'll have our entire lives in Houston packed up in that time. We wish we had all of our time to commit to either the details involved in moving to a foreign country or to the emotionally exhausting task of saying good-bye. We're finding it really hard to balance both.

Every day is a chance to walk in faith. Really. We find our dependence upon the Lord to be a necessity to making it through the day. On one hand, we are so incredibly thankful for that. Praise God that He sustains us and keeps us from completely losing it! On the other hand, growth never comes comfortably. There have been so many times we have felt stretched to our capacity. And yet the stretching continues! He IS sustaining us. He IS growing us. He IS providing what we need. He IS meeting intimately with us. He IS allowing us to be completely uncomfortable in the process.

As a dear friend and ministry partner exhorted us recently, we want to send Praise before us. We want faith in God's provision to be what defines this time. And so, exhausted and feeling at the end of ourselves, we say "to God be the Glory!"