An unpredictable year

If you had asked either one of us about 3 years ago what we would be doing after we graduated from Auburn, we would have said:  get married, move back to Birmingham, Brittany will teach at Shades Mountain and Brent will work at Wells Fargo.  Well…we got one of those right.  We are married.  The Lord had better plans.  Our lives began to not go as planned during Brent’s senior year at Auburn.  He went to a job fair and talked to a company named Ferguson.  He passed that interview and they asked him to come to Jacksonville, FL for a second interview. Before he went to Jacksonville, Brent knew that it wasn’t likely that he would work in Birmingham.  We discussed places that he might move–Mobile, Pensacola, Atlanta, Nashville, etc. I remember going to see him at work at Sear’s and he threw out the possibility of Fort Myers, FL.  I had never heard of the place and thought he was a little crazy to move 12 hours away from me.  But, I supported him 100%.  When he got back from Jacksonville, he called me just as I walked out of class.  He told me he got the job…if he moved to Fort Myers.  I was immediately ecstatic for him and Allison and I took him out to dinner to celebrate.  In June of 2006, Brent moved to Fort Myers.  In the span of 11 months, I visited him 4 times. After he proposed to me on Christmas Eve of 2006, I started to think about how in the world I would find a teaching position 12 hours away.  The school system down there had a job fair on April 26 (I remember the date because it was a month away from the wedding).  One of the pastor’s at my church in Birmingham had a sister that just happened to be a principal in Lee County, FL at Mirror Lakes Elementary.  I went to the job fair that was supposed to last from 10:00-4:00. I introduced myself to the principal, she interviewed me, and by 10:15 I was walking out the door, signed contract in my hand.  I was going to be a 4th grade teacher.  On May 26th, Brent and I got married.  It was the most memorable day of my life. I had so much fun and would go back to it in a heart beat.  Had I known that I was moving back to Alabama just 3 1/2 weeks after the wedding, I wouldn’t have cried so much as we were leaving the reception!  8 days after the honeymoon, Brent called to say that he was being transferred to Fort Lauderdale/West Palm Beach.  We sure didn’t want to move again and I didn’t want to job hunt again, but we didn’t have a choice.  However, we didn’t want to move to West Palm Beach either. Thankfully, a position opened up for Brent in Huntsville.  With the help of my brother Ben, we moved home 3 1/2 weeks later.  The hunt started again–the hunt for a job, house, and church. God blessed us with all 3.  I got a job teaching 5th grade, we found the perfect house for us, and a church where we could worship, grow and serve.  We had a scare back in February that would have moved us again.  Brent’s boss recommended him for a job with Ferguson’s corporate office. If given the job, we would have to move to Newport News, VA or Theale, Britain.  It would have made a great story, but thankfully he didn’t get the job.  

As I reflect on this first year of marriage I wonder how we survived all the changes that occurred.  And, I shouldn’t be surprised.  Our God is faithful.  And that is exactly what we have experienced this year…God’s faithfulness.  Knowing what has happened in the past and experiencing His faithfulness makes me fearless of the future.  I have no clue what the future holds, and with our track record, it will probably be a little crazy and unpredictable.  But, I will always remember this year and how we made it, not because of anything we did or can do, but because of God’s love and faithfulness.  And, I kinda give some credit to my wise grandmother that always reminded me that life is too short to argue and be mad. Brent and I argue much less than we did before we were married. God designed us to perfectly work together. We get each other and we laugh ALL the time.  Laughter is the best medicine. Our days are numbered and I must love Brent sacrificially and unconditionally all the time. I’m only given one chance to live this life and I am learning to make the most of it.