I have trouble defining the feeling I've had walking into this final week of living in the "Burgh." For the most part, I've been in complete denial that we are actually moving on the 27th, hoping that somehow THAT will make it true....but knowing that it really won't. :) Nonetheless, we have had an incredible year out here in Pittsburgh, as Nathan has been serving out his internship at Ruthfred Lutheran Church and we are going to have a hard time saying good-bye.
And now the tears commence.
Uffda, the reality has set in, I am no longer in denial as our house sits almost completely packed and as we eat off of plastic because all of the dishes are packed away. I just finished rocking our not-so-little-anymore son back to sleep from waking up a bit too early for the day. There is something incredibly peaceful and relaxing about rocking a child in a rocking chair as they cuddle in your embrace as the early morning rays of sun peek through the blinds. After this morning, his room will be boxes and a pack-n-play and the crib and rocking chair will be out of his room for ease of packing the truck the day it comes.
Josiah has covered so many milestones here in this parsonage! He learned to roll over, sit up, crawl, walk, babble, and got his first teeth here. He graduated to a crib when we moved here, he began sleeping through the night (finally) and was weaned here. He learned how to wave bye-bye, how to use baby sign language, and how to fold his hands to pray here. He learned how to play in the great outdoors here and what a cool, wiggly worm feels like in his hands here. And there is so much more for him to learn after we leave here as well, but it is cool to see what all he's been through in our short time here.
Nathan has learned the life of ministry from a new perspective here. He's been able to do countless visitations to people in the church and to share God's encouraging Words with them. The exposure he has had to the down-in-the-trenches life of a pastor is priceless. He's done funerals, weddings, baptisms, youth group, youth and adult Sunday School, confirmation, small group work, counseling, visitations, and so many more things that I probably don't even realize that he's had the opportunity to experience and do. I've watched him grow in his preaching abilities, I've seen him wrestle through tough situations and come out on the other side having learned something, and I've watched how God has used him as His instrument in bestowing His grace, love, truth, forgiveness, and sometimes even confrontation amongst His flock. Aside from church, I've witnessed him become a delightful dad who has the complete adoration of our son, and I've grown to love him even more as my husband and best friend. Just like his name comes up in my phone, he is "God's perfect gift to me."
As for me, this has been a emergent year for me. I have made deep, long-lasting friendships with other moms who have lived in the daily trenches of motherhood with me, who have shared life freely and openly with me (and vice versa), who have loved on me and blessed me into this role of motherhood (Josiah was just 2.5 mo. old when we came out here). I have been deeply touched by members of the congregation who have come alongside each of us in our family and made lasting impacts on our lives in many different ways. I have wrestled through what it means to be a mother, what I want to be as a godly homemaker, how I am gifted to serve as a pastor's wife, and emerged better on the other side.
There are members who have invested in Nathan's life as encouragers in his journey to becoming a pastor and teacher. There are those who have taken Josiah under their wing and shown him the love of Jesus through their one-on-one interactions with him at church and through babysitting. There are those who have lifted me up in my role as a mother, wife, and pastor's wife, and given me the freedom to be the person I've been created to be as each of those roles are played out in my life.
Not to mention all of the travelling we've been able to do! We've visited D.C., Niagra Falls, Philadelphia, the Statue of Liberty, Punxstawney, Amish country in Lancaster, the Creation Museum, and probably more of Pittsburgh than your average Pitssburgher. The experiences we have had here are numerous and each one has been a blessing to add to our list of gifts from God.
It's just a 'see ya later,' because we will be back. Pittsburgh will forever have a special place in our hearts and we can't imagine not coming back after how this place has left such an imprint on our hearts in such a short amount of time.
Pray for us in these next couple of days and weeks as we transition to St. Louis and begin another journey and learn another place that is completely new to us. Lift us up in prayer as Nathan prepares to begin his PhD classes, as I work to make our new house a home, and as Josiah adjusts to new surroundings and tries to understand what is happening.
