We Are Moving

Bittersweet.  Pleasure mingled with pain.  I think I am learning what this word means in way I never have before.  

We are moving from the sweet sweet town we have loved for the last 11 years. We’re moving to the sweet sweet town that molded us and sent us out into this amazing world.  We are returning home to Sikeston as people who have been loved by an amazing community of people in one of the most beautiful places on earth.  We have forever been marked and changed by this Valley.

Brent left his job with Meadow Heights Church in October.  He’ll tell you it was an amazing 10 years and that he loves the men he worked with deeply and that he loves the people he ministered to deeply.  He simply couldn’t ignore the whisper he knew was from God telling him it was time to do something different.  We will forever love Meadow Heights Church.  Meadow Heights is in our bones, it is part of us.  

In January something happened in our hearts.  For the first time, we let ourselves actually feel the longing we had to be near our family.  It is a desire that would well up in us at different times.  But our commitment to the church was simply a stronger force while Brent worked at the church.  When that changed, we eventually felt the flood of emotions and the longing to be with those people who have loved us unconditionally from afar.

At visits we watched Heidi cook with her grandmas.  We watched her climb trees in Granny’s yard and totally let her hair down with her Mimi.  We watched Heath come to fullest life with his cousin Sam and admire his cousin Nolan.  You could just feel the complete peace they had with their family.  Brent would linger in long talks with his grandpas and fit in like one of the guys with his uncles and cousins.  I wanted to just sit long with my grandma and hear all about her life and stay up til 10:30 with her to watch KFVS12.  

We let ourselves really feel the love of people from the church we grew up in and school system that shaped us.  In turn fell in love with our hometown and the longing to be there was clear.  It is a Good a place where Good things are happening.  We were ready to bring whatever Good we have to offer to that sweet town.

The bitter is the sheer and gut-wrenching pain we have gone through when we imagine walking away from Arcadia Valley as our home.  We are completely changed because of this place.  We have learned God in this Valley in a way we couldn’t have had we not been here.  We have learned Love and Grace and Truth and Hope.  

There was that time when these people practically built us a house when we got a little too ambitious and in over our heads.  And, the time they fed us for a month while I was on bedrest.  There were the fireflies in the yard and flashight tag, mud pie kitchen, lemonade stands, and water balloon wars with these kids from so many families and all ages. There were wrestling matches, hide n seek in the dark, dance parties, fashion shows, car tracks, ninja warrior courses, and muffin making with these sweet families.  And the Baptist Home. Oh the Baptist Home.  Visits with the residence.  Cards and crafts.  The pond.  So many lazy summer afternoons at the pond. And the best hill ever for sledding.  The countless adventures at Elephant Rocks. The best playground on earth.  

Sitting long with my momma friends while our pre-school kids played and discussed books and sleepless nights and kids.  Sitting long with teenage girls on my bed while we dissected life and God and purpose. Sitting long with people several generations older and soaking up their wisdom and perspective.  

And, the people of the school.  Oh my.  How you have embraced us and our kids. It has been an amazing place to work.  My children absolutely love this school.  They feel loved, valued, and smart all because of the way each of you have taken time to invest in them.  (In case anyone out there is wondering, Arcadia Valley Public School District is a truly amazing district full of dedicated, authentic, good people who are great at what they do).

Here in this Valley, our prejudices have been busted open.  Religion has been stripped away. We have lived sacrifice and simplicity.  We have lived with peace and hope.  We have grieved through pain and rejection and loss.  It has grown us.  You, people of this beautiful Valley have grown us.  We are forever grateful.  We did not deserve to be loved the way you have loved us.  

You were Christ to us.  

I pray that we can carry that on and be the same to others.  It is with many tears and so much love that we say thank you and good-bye.  We know more Good is to come in this Valley.

(We will be moving the first week of June)