what i've learned in lynchburg

I never dreamed that my life would be like it has for the past 3 years. During college, I vowed that I would never live in Lynchburg. God is funny, isn't he? I thought that after we finished at Liberty Matt and I would get married and he would have a youth pastor job right away at some church probably not even in Virginia. As God's plans would have it, he found a part time youth job at Big Island Baptist Church (30 minutes outside of Lynchburg). He accepted the offer and then started looking for a full time position to support his soon to be wife. I started applying for jobs in Lynchburg as well and got one before Matt did at Central Virginia Community Services. Matt also applied at the agency and due to my mentioning his name in the interview, was also called for one. He got a job also! And it was just in the nick of time.

We moved in to our apartment at Willowbrook and really made it feel like home. We have loved living here even though with a child it has now become more cramped and lugging things up to the 3rd story has been no fun either! But the complex has been safe, well kept, and has a pool!

Matt worked at Big Island for a year before resigning so he could start seminary which our old home church, Suburban Christian, was going to completely finance for him! After 2 years of seminary, he finally graduated with his MAR in August of last year. And then the hunt began again for a church position. I know for a fact that Matt never wanted to be in the job at CVCSB for as long as he has been but God had him there and us in Lynchburg for a reason.

I left the CVCSB about a year after we got married and started work as a social worker at Westminster Canterbury, a retirement community. I absolutely loved that job and it was right up my alley of what I wanted to do.

In 2007, God blessed us with our first beautiful little daughter, Lily Madelyn Bruns. We never guessed how much life would change for us after having her! But we LOVE it! I have been able to stay at home as a full time mom since she was born - my dream come true.

The whole process of Matt getting the job at Suburban has been a long hard one. Mostly hard because of the waiting and having to trust God that if this wasn't the answer - he was going to financially provide for our family. God knew just when we needed to know about the job because our answer of "yes" came just in time before we were going to have to make some changes.

Well... this might sound disjointed because I've been going back and writing more as time has permitted. But the whole point in this is that I want to remember how God has provided for our family these past 3 years. The circumstances are no where what Matt or I thought they were going to be but God always knows what He's doing. Trusting God and giving Him control are two of the hardest things I struggle with because of my personality type so if for nothing but that reason, God used these years to gradually work on those qualities in my life. I've still got a long way to go but I'm a work in progress.

Only God knows what this next phase of life is going to bring for us as a family but we are praying that God would use us as He sees fit. It will be hard to leave Lynchburg - the place we have called home the past 3 years. It was Matt and I's first place we called home, our first "real world" jobs, and our first child was born here. Lynchburg will forever have a special place in my heart. And ultimately I will miss my closest friends that I have here. God knew what friends to put in my life for these 3 years and He did a darn good job! I've already cried once this week and I told Matt I'm sure there will be many more tears to come during the move. Change is hard, even good change. And leaving what you have called "home" is even more difficult. But that just means we get to make a new place home for us as a family.

The next week or two will be very busy so for all my devoted blog readers, you might not hear from me often or at all for a little bit depending upon how things are going and what kind of computer access I have!