BWC Post 1 (2024): First Days

Lately, I've been thinking about times of transition, both the chaos of these seasons and the signs of God's faithfulness in the midst of the crazy. There is this grand, sacred intermingling of these two in the most surprising ways. Often the faithfulness comes in the help given by friends and family, the books seemingly chosen for such a time as this, and the Lord bringing surprise guests at the most unexpected moments. It is sweet to live as God's sheep, and perhaps that sweetness becomes all the more unctous when one is in disarray and lacking in the stable. We serve a God who has always valued wonderers, journeyers, immigrants, desert-dwellers, tent-makers; it's little wonder His faithfulness is more apparent in these seasons--oasis's in the tumult of the storm. Speaking of storm...

Last Wednesday, Elijah & Ashley (with Baby Logan in tow) English, Paul and Matt English, Gary Bailia from church, and my grandma (we call her Mam-Maw) came and helped Isaiah and I load the pod for long-term storage (items we won't be getting until Fall). Some of the ladies also helped me organize boxes for the BoardWalk Chapel in the guest room as the pod was loaded. Last Thursday, Isaiah headed out to get the U-Haul for the Boardwalk trip (in an effort to save our car's gas mileage and shocks) whilst I was dropped off at Panera to FaceTime my bosses for my teaching exit interview. Once I said goodbye (for now) to two of my favorite people via FaceTime, Isaiah picked me up in a U-Haul with our happy yellow car attached to the back by U-Haul trailer hitch. 

We then drove back home to cram the ornery mattress into the pod (it took some real effort!). Afterwards, we focused on packing up the rest of the Boardwalk Chapel boxes for Summer (including items we plan on sharing with the ministry, items we will definitely use for Summer, and a few rouge items that didn't make it into the pod) and placing said boxes into the U-Haul. The comical aspect of our 2-person packing party was that 2 different groups came by to look at the house while we were in the heated throws of packing the remaining aspects of our lives up. Neither party seemed to mind hopping over boxes, the piles of dust I had in corners to be swept, or the fact that we were interweaving with them as they toured with their respective realtors and kids. It was cray! We felt quite elated to have showings at such a time since it showed us God's faithfulness in getting the house sold no matter what our priorities happened to be, but were also slightly confused at the chaos of our final home scene. It certainly wasn't the idealized, romantic goodbye to our home I'd imagined. But perhaps it was better. Our home has always been a place of visitors, slight chaos in a place of peace, friends whose children litter the floor with games and toys from the hope chest--why should our departure day have been any different. Our final day, like our life on South Merritt, was filled with meeting new people, fellowshipping while fulfilling tasks, hard work that we tried to make look easy. Reflecting upon it now, this gift of showings as we packed and loaded was exactly what I needed to remember what our home had been and will continue to be (for our home is where the Lord is and we were are) and to remember that life goes on, and, rather than weep at that, we are to rejoice at the reality of life continuing on and empty spaces being continuously filled with new life. 

Once we got on the road with the cat in the carrier in between our seats and snacks from Mam-Maw piled on top of that, we breathed a mutual sigh of relief. We arrived at the OPC Summer ministry The Boardwalk Chapel on Friday at 2AM. Surprisingly (though given the incredible level of fellowship here, perhaps it was not so surprising after all), we had a greeting team of 3 who were up at that time to hand us keys and lovingly welcome us with nice conversation. The following day, we had a staff/Christ the King OPC Church cook-out, leader's meeting, and trip to Sunset Beach for fun and ice-cream; the fellowship was sweet and reminded me of what makes this ministry so special and joy-filled. 

Since our arrival, we have worked on organizing our room and, though not all-the-way finished, it is and has come together well. Lana the Cat is also happy and is enjoying the room and her cat corner (she cannot exit the room because 2 folks are allergic; we even have an extra blocker under the door to make sure no dander escapes). That being said, we do have plans to get Lana more sunshine (our black-out curtains which are a blessing to us don't provide that) via getting her heart-worm medicine and a harness for walks. We will see how brave Lana has become when I attempt to walk her; she does seem to long for sun, so we plan to try this. It has been a great comfort to me to get to pet her when I'm stressed or tired, and she quite enjoys the nice high bed to hide under. 

When we're not enjoying our sweet room (it is lovely, and I married a spouse who logically thinks through arrangements so well), we're going to Evangelism Training sessions since the Evangelism Conference started this week, attending nightly dinner and devotions with the staff, going on dates (aka: today we got an Egyptian lunch between training sessions and managed to have a night snack at Mudhen at the day's end), or having chats with some wonderful brothers and sisters in the Lord (I have loved getting to know and getting to encourage some of the young women on staff here). Isaiah was privileged to preach at Ocean City Chapel our first Sunday here, and they gifted us a bouquet of beautiful flowers which have now been distributed into mason jars for the dinner tables to share with all. I was blessed to get to make a watermelon shark as a part of our dinner (Avery--the Domestics lead--indulges me); I have a Pinterest board that I saved some artsy, ocean-and/or-evangelism-themed snacks to, and Mr. Watermelon Shark as the first fun experiment was a success. I love bringing joy to a culture through small, creative things. Isaiah has been spending time sermon-writing as we prepare to visit PA for him to preach this coming Sunday at Grace OPC as well as leading Chapel evangelism teams. I am so proud of him. That man could adjust in a hurricane.

We have really been enjoying our morning coffee and couple devotions (ESV Bible Reading Plan) before we head out to get dressed together (since until today we've been sharing a house key; which I've actually grown to like) and head to training sessions. I've been likewise enjoying getting time to help Isaiah with those small items that can take some of the stress from his plate (even if it's as small as making lunch, making sure to take care of the cat, or planning some logistics or scheduling while he is leading teams). I do so love being a help-meet to this worthy man the Lord has given me. I may never deserve the gift of him, but I can joyfully do the small things I am able to make his life sweet. He continues to serve me daily and be the best man I have ever met. I am truly a woman blessed.