Let me give you some back story. Ever since I was a young teen I knew that I wanted to get out and experience things outside of Ruston. I wanted to experience things I couldn't at "home". Shortly after David & I started dating he had decided that he wanted to serve in the Air Force on active duty. Fast forward a couple years of dating, engagement then marriage we were off on our journey in the Air Force. Leaving the only place both of you have ever known is overwhelming. But, for both of us it was also filled with excitement. We both knew that we would lean on each other and no matter what we had each other. We have had such an amazing journey. We have moved from Ruston, Louisiana
to Lompoc, California, to Great Falls, Montana, back to Lompoc, California, then to Colorado Springs, Colorado. We have seen and experienced some of the most amazing things in this country. We have met people at each place that we consider family and have learned so much. We have also grown tremendously. We have allowed ourselves to grow and develop with each place that we have lived as well as grown to love the differences in the way God made us all.
8 years ago David separated from active duty and made his way to working as a defense contractor consultant for Booz Allen Hamilton. It was a time in our lives that taught us a lot about faith and leaning on God. Since then our journey has brought us to Colorado and now there has been an opportunity presented to David at Barksdale.
This is something that we have been thinking about for a long time. I mean, I love moving to different places, meeting new people, figuring out new towns, worshiping at different congregations so why would I want to move back to a place that we have already lived? So many things have crossed our minds. We have tried to think of as many positive as well as challenging aspects as possible to make sure that we aren't deciding this based on a Pollyanna view of the world (or Ruston). Ultimately we are looking forward to reconnecting with family and friends and deepening the bond of love we have. We are looking forward to forging those opportunities for our children and we are excited about learning new things about a place so dear to us. We are going in with an open mind and heart for the things we will learn and get to enjoy. As well as the things that might be difficult to navigate. One thing we have promised ourselves is to not form opinions about anything and to have an open mind about everything. (Which is the way he have approached each new move we have taken) .
David will be working at Barksdale, but we have decided that we would like to try to live in Ruston. The first 6 months will be a learning curve for all of us, so we will use this time to figure out if this is the best for our family. We are very hopeful that it will work, but again we don't want to take on too much that isn't good for our family so we will give it a trial and see if it works. We have some dreams we would love to follow and by being in Ruston, that would help us see those possibly come to fruition (more on those later...).
So, here we are. Sitting with 2 weeks left until we begin moving back to the place we left almost 15 years ago. We pray that we will be able to live the dreams we have dreamed and fulfill all that God has for us with all our might. We are looking forward to reconnecting with the old and forming the new. This new year will bring us lots of new beginnings. We will try to navigate them with God leading our family. We wish you all a Happy New Year and that 2016 will be a year of blessings.
