Time to Spill

Okay, so we've had something simmering away on the back burner for the past year and I don't think I've mentioned a word about it here.

The time has come.

I'm not going to include all the details which is a favor to you because it'd probably make for some very dull reading, but here's the gist:

We LOVE the Pacific Northwest. We've been there several times and each time we leave loving it more.

This time last year, two days into our family vacation, Jeff turned to me and said, "Life is too short to not live here."

It was as if he was reading my mind.

Immediately, we began looking into various job opportunities for Jeff. Within two months, we were back up there so he could take a written and physical test. If he did well then he would be eligible to apply for various law enforcement positions in our beloved region.

We also took time to peruse several communities where we could afford homes to see if they would be a good fit for our family.

Well, Jeff did very well on his test, the results of which were sent out to multiple agencies. We were told that the agencies might contact him over the next year and a half to invite him to send them an application. Or, they might not. So we waited...

Several sent-in-apps later we started fielding calls for invitations to oral board interviews. He turned the first few down for various reasons.

Many months passed with virtually nothing happening in regards to us uprooting our well established lives and staking a claim elsewhere. Jeff and I were both at peace with that. In fact, when asked how serious we were about doing so, my reply was, "We don't want to go unless we get a green light and all the cars behind us are honking."

Last March, we took our vacation up there again and the verdant stretches of landscape rekindled our desires. Still, we knew we wanted to have no part in an actual move unless we were very confident that it would be the best thing for our family and the parts we're playing in God's kingdom. (In case you're wondering what that last bit means, it's this: We know that God has put us on this earth for a limited time and we want to make the most of that span, not concerned primarily with whatever whims we have to please ourselves but to actually serve God's purposes which are often mysterious, indeed.)

Well, in late June, Jeff received a letter inviting him to take part in an oral board interview in an area we love and where we could afford more than a garden shed in which to live. We had been scrimping and saving money for just this situation, so the only thing left was for Jeff to get the time off of work.

This wasn't likely because time off is hard to come by at his work. In fact, workers are supposed to request summer time off in February and he already had a week approved off for August.

We prayed for God to open doors He wanted open and close doors He wanted closed and were soon delighted to hear that Jeff's time off was granted. :)

Thus, the shopping trip which resulted in the ridiculously cheap suit . (You didn't think we did that just for kicks, did you?)

Then something really fun happened. I came home from running errands one day to find a message on our voice mail from another agency in a great area inviting Jeff to an oral board during the time we would already be up there!!!

A blessed twofer!

So, five flight legs, three days and two oral boards later, we arrived home, tired but very pleased with our little venture. Although Jeff wishes he had said a few things differently in the interviews, he felt satisfied that he had represented himself well and accurately. A couple of interviewers told him afterward that he had done well. That was encouraging because it's not as if they had to go out of their way to say so. They could have just said, "Have a nice day" or nothing at all.

We drove home from the airport with a sense of peace, believing that the way we've pursued this dream is pleasing to our God and knowing that He is a Father Who will continue to lead and care for us wherever we are.

*titter titter*

Sorry, I'm just thinking of what happened next...

When we arrived home, it was 11:30pm and we were exhausted, but Jeff wanted to check our email. In doing so, he discovered that he was being invited to an oral board with a third agency during the week that he already had off in August!!! So much for sleeping that night!

*hardy guffaw*

Obviously we have no idea how this will all end, but we do know that we're in the hands of the One who does. :) There's great peace in that.