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The BIG news: two weeks ago, Tim was offered an Alaska grant to continue welding school at NIT for an additional eight weeks with all costs covered. !!!?!! Holy freaking cow !?!!!
This is like winning the lottery -- which never happens to real people, you know?
At the same time, it also means a continuation of exhausting back- and-forth three hour road treks from Glennallen to Palmer -- & more of the heart-wrenching live-with-my-husband-for-only-a-few-hours-a-week experience. I have never felt more confusingly bipolar as I felt when I received this unexpected news...happy tears, sad tears...how the heck, am I supposed to feel?
Here we go...another two months! And all thought of making a plan for employment & life somewhere new in Alaska...is on hold. And so ... I'm continually challenged to let tomorrow worry about itself. Someday, I hope that my intended trust in Jesus' sovereignty actually changes my anxiety level.
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In other news:
Day shift at work...has been cruising. And in rising with the sun, I feel like a Homo sapien again. It's been busy! It's been beautiful. Between ambulance runs and psychosocial care, I have worked and gone home tired, and my soul, in true Martha fashion, always seems more at rest in having contributed something to the world during a rotation of this little blue-green planet. I know we are called to rest. But I'm persuaded to think that we are also designed to doers like the ants. We'll see what these next few weeks hold?!
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I was gifted the gift of attending the Christian Community Health Fellowship conference in Atlanta, Georgia this past weekend. This was the most refreshing few days I have lived...in a very long time. Like a weary, homeless, broken woman...attending this conference was like crawling from the savanna (or Siberia?) into a vibrant oasis.
Yes, I sprawled my pale self out on a green lawn...and denied the fact that it is still snowing in Alaska. I wore flip-flops. I ate Chik-fil-A. I rode public transportation. I entered a community as a minority. I meet dozens of like-minded people who are striving to help those in need of medical care throughout the United States in both underserved urban and rural settings. I worshiped and prayed, repented, wept, got on my knees again. I was challenged to trust, to surrender, to seek genuine community, to rethink traditional patterns of charity. I was able to share snapshots about Cross Road at our exhibitor's booth and reflected on the unique aspects that first drew me toward this little medical center.
Side note & prayer request:
CRMC needs a doc. Please pray for a physician to take up his cross to Mile 187 of the Glenn Hwy.
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And now, I'm back in the great AK. I've been crashing in Palmer for a few days, frequenting a coffee shop that makes my heart warm over -- even went on a school field trip with my beloved cousin-in-law-five-times-removed... and have been able to live life for a few days with my husband. Thank God.
The blessings that have rained down over the Alaskan Sloma people in the past couple weeks have been many. Life remains a whirlwind. But I'm thankful for the gracious ways Jesus has reminded me of His goodness this month. Taste and see...even in overwhelming uncertainty....
I head back to Glennallen today.
All ya'all who have been praying. Thank you. Thank you so much.
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