Questions, decisions...And the next two weeks...

After much prayer, many conversations and a few ounces of ponderance, Tim and I decided it was in our best interest for him to resign from his position as maintenance supervisor. He has a few weeks off now to breathe... and plan and rest and breathe some more.

'Tis time to make lots of big, grown-up decisions. We are now looking into schooling and options for Tim to pursue his passion for welding and to check-off certification. This is an exciting thing. Tim loves welding -- and it is definitely something that he could use just about anywhere! We hope to settle on a particular program before the end of the second week of Feb, when Tim will be meeting with CrossRoad again to discuss  his availability, should he stay on as maintenance staff (before school/after school/part time, etc). And not necessarily just welding, but throw in the mix the need to decide whether flight school is also something that should happen...and when...

So welding school...will be in either Palmer or Anchorage (3-4 hours away). And I will be in Glennallen. And welding school could be just a couple months...or it could be, well, longer. So there is the question of lodging, of newly wedded marriageness from a distance, of finances. And the crazy questions of whether welding certification would open doors for employment in a different part of Alaska? Whether we should be open to that? Whether or not to inquire about transferring my loan forgiveness commitment? Not sure if that would even be possible. Honestly even the unlikely possibility of a green light to move and switch up jobs this year is exciting to me in my present war with discontentment at work. But I don't want to bail, just because of frustration and...boredom. We want to move in response to God's leading, not out of our emotion. I write this last sentence mostly as a note to self...because right now I want to run away. And I'm also getting way ahead of myself...

So the next couple weeks are pretty significant. Yet again, this year baffles me with all of its unknowns. Uh...like every year... Why do we even make plans!? And why do I freak out and shart myself every freaking time...like it's the first time I've ever not known what tomorrow might bring? Why do we ever expect anything to ever unfold like we think it should?

Quick recap: As a high schooler, I never would have expected that I would have a limbo year that would find me working at a retirement home. I never would have anticipated that from the wheat fields of Pendleton, Oregon, that I'd end up in g-l-a-m-o-r-o-u-s Southern California. I never imagined that I would move from California to Alaska...to frigid Glennallen, Alaska...or that I'd meet a certain janitor, who would become my life buddy within a short year! And I didn't expect that after agreeing to loan forgiveness (something I prayed for since before I accrued my lovely loans), that I'd wrestle with purpose in my job...and that moving could be a reality before my commitment is complete? Well maybe?

Here's my February resolution...kill as many expectations as I can identify.

So much of my heartache right now is that I expect that God should want to use me in my profession. And I expect to do great things for Him. Hold it. Wake up, Radke-Sloma! God, invites you to work with Him, but He doesn't need you, darling -- just strive to make yourself available, stay alert & wait for Him show you Himself & to move through you at His divine will...the whole open-hands-open-life idea. Thanks be to one of my coworkers for this wisdom!

Heard a relevant sermon today about Job (Shout out to East Hills Alliance Church!). So I'm going to proliferate someone else's idea here -- In the questions, and in the shattered expectations, remember that within the chasm of what we believe about God and our present life experience....is a lot of getting-to-know-God's-heart-and-character-space. And remember too, that "the Lord answered Job out of the whirlwind..." and gently spoke of His Sovereignty over it all... (Job 38).

Please pray with us as we wait for God to pick us up and lead.  Like in the picture!

How has God blown up your expectations in life?
How have God-surprises shaped your life for His glory!?