I’ve shared some, but not much, of our journey through medical school and residency. This little old blog actually started the same month The Hubby started medical school, back when Big J was a toddler and Little J was a newborn!
In some aspects, the past six years have FLOWN by, but I know that there were months, weeks, and even days that felt incredibly long and hard along the way. All in all, it has been challenging for all of us, but nearly as hard as I imagined it could be. For that, I am so very thankful.
And I’m here to share another reason for us to be thankful: last month, The Hubby signed a contract for an outpatient internal medicine clinic position to start when he finishes residency next summer! We took about three months to pray and really weigh all of our options and God led us clearly to this one. We are so very excited and grateful and all the emotions!
I feel like we are now on a bridge. Yes, we are physically still on one side of the bridge, living in the same house, same city, same everything, but in our hearts, we’ve stepped out on to this bridge that will take us to the next place He has for us. This one decision means so many things will change for us next summer – new town, new home, new job, new friends – and we are crossing a bridge over these next nine months to prepare ourselves and our boys for the other side.
The town we will be moving to has this fabulous old pedestrian bridge. The Hubby and I stood on that bridge discussing the future the last time we visited before making our decision. The bridge felt significant to me, so I snapped a bunch of pictures, and when we got home, I discovered this quote…
“I will not tell you how long or short the way will be; only that it lies across a river. But do not fear that, for I am the great Bridge Builder.” ~spoken by Aslan in The Voyage of the Dawn Treader by C.S. Lewis
I can’t tell you right now if the next nine months will feel long or short. But change is going to happen and God is asking me to not be afraid of it – the house selling and house buying and saying goodbye to everything familiar. Change is the river we must cross, but He will build our bridge and will lead us across it.
Through this process, God has used so many water and river images to guide and calm me, so I’m not surprised this bridge is firmly imprinted on my mind. It’s actually a comfort now as I know we’ve taken the first step and the only way to go is forward!
Yes, change is unsettling, but we are so thrilled with the direction He is moving us. We’re crossing the bridge and looking forward to many new and wonderful things for our family!
What bridge are you crossing right now?
Congrats to your hubby on his new job. We’ve been there. My husband finished his residency in 2004. It’s exciting and scary at the same time.
I love the bridge analogy. It’s such a good way to represent transitions. The pedestrian bridge in my hometown is where my high school class had their senior pictures, and where I was engaged a few years later. Now I’ve been able to take my kids back. It will always be a special place for me. 🙂
Erin, I read this post a while back and thought I commented- oops, I didn’t! Just want to say “congratulations” cause I don’t think I said that yet, and I am excited for you guys! While at the same time, sad to lose you! It has been wonderful having you in Omaha and I’m thankful for this time! Even though it’s not over yet! 🙂 Thank goodness for the internet. Maybe I can come visit sometime too!
P.S. I like that bridge a lot!! how cool! And your analogy is spot-on. Praying for you during this transition!
I feel as if I knew you were moving. Did you tell me? I can “hear” you here. I know the moving process quite well. And I remember the apprehension, and the deep desire to have God lead the way. One year, when my husband and I were moving to a new state with our two children, the Lord gave me this verse from Jeremiah:
“This is what the Lord Almighty, the God of Israel, says to all those I carried into exile from Jerusalem to Babylon: “Build houses and settle down; plant gardens and eat what they produce. Marry and have sons and daughters; find wives for your sons and give your daughters in marriage, so that they too may have sons and daughters. Increase in number there; do not decrease. Also, seek the peace and prosperity of the city to which I have carried you into exile. Pray to the Lord for it, because if it prospers, you too will prosper.”
Of course you’re not going into exile. But the instruction to settle in and to be a blessing to the city where God sends is such a gift to us. May God bless the city where he sends you, because of your presence there. And may you be deeply changed for good—and for Good—in your new home. May God redeem and restore you and those around you in the days ahead.
Ah. So many changes. I can relate, but it can bring forth such growth and adventure (a midst the craziness and loss). Last week I wrote about our most recent move -and we’ve had a lot of them!