Rule 39...

I've been waiting for the right time to post this, and I think that time has come.

Last Christmas (2013), Thomas and I were again bombarded with questions as to whether we were returning to Michigan and tons of comments about how we were missed.  We'd been telling everyone for a couple months that we would move the summer of 2014 somewhere "East of the Mississippi", although we were positive we'd probably never end up back in Michigan.  The realization came that, if we were going to move, I needed to start actually looking for a job, instead of putting it off.  The problem was, I really liked where I was at - minus a couple things.

So, we prayed about it and decided to stay unless something extremely obvious happened (I'm one of those people who needs to be hit by a 2x4 in order to really understand something).

Fast forward TWO days.  I received a call from a former boss telling me about this school he'd just started working at and that there might be a need for a 2nd 6th grade teacher the following school year (2014-2015).  Still a big maybe, but if I was interested, he'd keep me in the loop.  All I could think was "Gibs Rule 39 - there is no such thing as a coincidence".  But Phoenix was still incredibly far away from the Mississippi.  So, we told Nick we may be interested, IF the opening even happened.  It did - so then we made a pros/cons list for moving.  The cons for moving list looked something like this:
 - I had 8 weeks of maternity leave
 - I was playing the piano for church
 - I like my current administrator and team
 - I had good insurance

PROS for Moving:
 - This actually happened the year before...I was moved from one position to another with a weeks notice and with no say from my current administrator.  If anything left me bitter, it was this.  There were several other things that happened around this situation that contributed, but I'm not going into further detail.  Let's just leave it at - I knew no position I ever held would be safe, even during a school year.
 - One of the things holding me to Douglas was that I played the piano for my church.  I'm an amateur, mostly because I never listened to my piano instructor in college who said I would need it one day (sorry Carla).  I always thought I'd be conducting a band NOT a choir (ha).  Anyways, because of my amateur status, the church decided to ask me to stop playing, so I could be a voice, instead of instrument (I can't sing and play at the same time and we needed singing) in services.  No hurt feelings (seriously) but a cut thread none the less.
 - Another "pro" we had for staying in Douglas was my current administrator.  She had been with me for 4 years and I was getting used to the mild consistency (of all 4 years, only 2 had been with the same pairing of admin).  She told us that April she was leaving for a position at the main office...thread cut.
 - Our house was 105 years old and was designed like it.  We needed to be able to afford a house that was safe for our growing family - and that probably wouldn't be possible in Douglas.
 - Micah was coming :)  There was no way I could support a family of 4 on my salary, and also no job opportunities (aside from the Call Center, and we all know how that ended) for Thomas.  If my salary wasn't going to cut it, than we needed to be somewhere where Thomas could get a job if needed.

All of these things lead up to us deciding to leave.  It has been a ride and a trust in God's plan like none other.  I miss my kids in Douglas every day and I still wish we lived closer to home.  But Facebook is a great way to stay in touch.  Gibb's rule 39 is true - but not always easy to accept.  This job will allow me to visit family when I need to, and that is important as well.

Reliance on God doesn't always go as we plan, but it is always what's best.