The B-I-G Announcement

No, we're not pregnant.  Let's just get that out of the way first.

God has been moving in our hearts and our lives a lot during the past months.  It's not that He's been more present (because He is always with us), He's just been a lot more obvious lately.

We've had a lot of things going on this year, but they all sort of culminated a few weeks ago when God started to give us some hints as to what is to come. 

One of Thomas' grandmothers passed away last month, and he traveled back to St. Louis for the funeral.  (This part of the situation makes a little more sense if you know that Thomas is the only grandchild on that side of the family and one of only two grandchildren on the other side of his family.)  Her husband, Thomas' paternal grandfather, had passed away a few years ago, and Thomas' maternal grandfather has some health problems also.  So, as he traveled to St. Louis and saw his family, God began to place it on his heart that maybe we were needed there to be close to his family.  (Also, my immediate family is in St. Louis too.)

Thomas' job was also coming to an end, and our apartment lease is up soon, so everything seemed to be ending at similar times.

So we began talking about our options as to renewing our lease, new jobs, etc.  And God continued to place it on our hearts that St. Louis is where we're supposed to be.

One of the main factors for me, at least, is the fact that God has prepared my heart for leaving Florida.  If you know me or have read the blog a lot, you'll know that living here in Florida, near the beach, has been a dream of mine for my whole life.  And yet, when I think about moving to St. Louis, I am excited.  A year ago, I would have shuddered and cried at the thought of leaving. 

God has planned things out so perfectly that we could not be more sure that we are on the exact course He has set for us.  And we are excited to see Him work out the rest of the details.

So... as you've guessed, the B-I-G announcement is that we are moving to St. Louis, and we're doing it next weekend.  (Yeah, that soon!)  I will sorely miss many things about Florida, but we are so incredibly excited to see God work in this next chapter of our lives.

Thus, over the next week and a half, you will see several sentimental posts about things I will miss about Florida, things I'll be glad to give up, and things I'm excited for in St. Louis.  And we will continue to see how God leads us into this new setting!