The Times, They Are a Changin'

June has been a huge month for us; in fact, probably the craziest one I've ever known in my adult life.

First we finally responded to God's call for us to move to Washington to be part of the ministry on my parent's lavender farm and to help them with the business, as it's just the three of them and a ton of plants! We're so excited to be going, but very overwhelmed with the implications of such a huge change.  We have been living in the Antelope Valley for 10 years together, basically our entire married life, and have spent eight of those years living in our apartment here in Rosamond, so leaving is the first big change we've made together since getting married.  We have family in Washington and wonderful brothers and sisters at the farm church that love us, so it is nice to have that to go to, but we have a lot of family and wonderful friends here as well and we're going to miss them terribly.

Soon after making the announcement that we were going, we found out that Jake's dad Don has cancer.  It is in a very early stage and they are pretty confident that he will be okay following surgery and chemo, but it is still a very scary thing and probably the worst thing you could have happen when you are gearing up for a move.  It's still a very difficult struggle in my head, being excited about moving but also feeling helpless about Dad's situation.  The only thing that has kept us both from completely losing our minds with worry is the unshakeable knowledge that God Almighty has all of this in control and He knew about all of it before it happened.  God has already used  Don's situation to touch so many people and really shake things up in a good way spiritually, not least of all in my life and in Jake's life.  The timing of everything-our move and Dad's cancer-is not coincidental.  It is all happening to glorify God, and we are looking forward to seeing how it all plays out.  Our story is just beginning a new chapter, and I have no idea how it will turn out, but my God does, and that's all I need to know.  I feel honored that I get to be part of it all, really, and despite this being the scariest, most uncertain time in my life that I have ever known, I am resting in the fact that God has us in His arms and is holding onto us no matter what happens.