The Three-Week Mark

Well, we've been in ATL for three weeks, and I've had one day of seminary classes so far (though some might count the 3.5 days of orientation, too). And I foresee that blog posts are going to be few and far between, at least at first! It's true what they told me: "On the first day, you'll already be about three weeks behind." Hopefully things will get into a rhythm soon. And the Blogger app (on which I wrote this post right before dinner) will probably become my best friend in this regard.

We are both still jobless, which is a little stressful at times. But we fortunately have a good amount of savings (as well as parents/friends who wouldn't let us starve or get evicted if it came down to it). I feel that God is teaching us to rely on Him again through this first-month-in-a-new-city experience.

Travis and I used to be really good about not worrying excessively about money and the future (as a couple, that is. I've always been a little more of a worrier, but that's definitely improved over the course of my life.). We valued many things above money, and we lived with those other priorities in mind and were always provided for monetarily...sometimes in really weird but blessed ways.

However, during our first year of marriage, we got caught up in the money worries sometimes. And we stopped relying on God to provide for us. We didn't tithe and give like we should and like we did before: trusting that there would be enough as we gave generously to those needs that were more pressing than our own.

I'm not advocating that one should be totally irresponsible and never save or anything like that, but I believe there's a balance that must be struck between faith and what our society might term financial "responsibility" and what I might term over-concern with future security. A security which takes away from faith. And we are learning that again, in a new place.

So today, in spite of zero income and a mountain of schoolwork to do, I am thankful. Thankful for newfound friends and the beginnings of connections and community. Thankful for my husband who has put out about fifteen job applications, and who cooks all of our meals and lets me read for school instead. Thankful for this opportunity to engage in theological education. Thankful that God has led us here, and that He'll continue to lead us all the way.