Moving is a stressor. Your life turns upside down until the final box is unpacked, then you continue to find your footing in a new town, a new church, and a new routine. Add a new job and life gets even crazier. Our move to Belen has gone beautifully. We have settled in and Joe and I are both finding great joy in our new pastoral roles. At my church in Socorro, even though we are worshipping in an online format only, I feel that the Holy Spirit has guided me to exactly where I am called to be and it is a wonderful feeling…but there is one thing.

Accepting a position as a pastor is a significant change for me. While I have been active in ministry alongside my husband for about 14 years, not simply being the “pastor’s wife” is a shift in my existence. I am actually being “the” pastor. During the years I was the wife of the pastor, I was also employed as an advocate in the healthcare field. I look back to those years realizing that I was in ministry the entire time.

From sitting in a bar with a colleague talking about communion over drinks, answering the phone and helping a colleague process the dying of her mother, and standing on a sidewalk in Atlanta, helping a colleague gain clarity as he rushed to be at his mother’s side, I see how God used me in a variety of ways to be the presence that was needed. Now, I am shepherding a flock of people who all have the same desire…to be closer to the Creator.

I am so overwhelmingly humbled at how God has put me where I am at this moment. While I still struggle a bit with the enormity of my calling to serve God, I take each moment, each phone call, each front porch or Zoom visit and place it at Jesus’ feet, praying for the right words and presence that is needed for those who are seeking.

How can I ever express the gratitude I have to God? By waking up each day that I am given breath and serving with my whole heart.

Today I Am Thankful For:

1. Lavender
2. Essential oil diffusers
3. Patchwork curtains
4. Cold toes
5. mountains