Five random facts about Lorretta that you may not care to know:
1) Lilacs are my favorite flower. I’ll take a fist-full of lilacs over a dozen roses any day.
2) My middle name is Lynn…making me, yes…. “Lorretta Lynn”. My mother hoped I’d be the next Country & Western star. She tried naming my baby sister “Tammy Wynette” but …thankfully, no.
3) I skipped kindergarten, becoming the only 5-year old in first grade and sealing my fate for social awkwardness for the remainder of my school career and… possibly for life!
4) I come ridiculously undone in the presence of Jelly-Belly jellybeans.
It’s not pretty people; all social courtesies go out the door. #donottouchmyjellybellies
Finally…
5) I have a warrior spirit. I am a fighter….and a bit of a rebel… with a cause.
I almost joined the Air Force right out of high school and seriously considered the Peace Corps as well. Neither happened and I don’t quite remember why but in my heart, I knew it wasn’t a good fit.
I was right.
By God’s grace, I married instead and for many reasons, I see how that decision has been used to hone my rough edges and temper this Warrior Spirit within me.
*******************************
My husband has a warrior spirit too. I oughta know; he’s fought for me.
This is the guy who wanted to be a war photographer. Back in his photojournalism days, he loved being in the middle of that breaking news story or on the edges of that raging wildfire. He did join the Air Force and for a time, that experience took us on many little adventures.
This is a drawing from the journal we kept when the Air Guard moved us to Reno:
As you can see, it was quite the adventure, and the adventures just keep coming!
Nearly twenty-five years of marriage and the raising of three children have served to purge a great deal of selfishness and immaturity from us, leaving behind a friendship forged and tempered in the merciful fires of God’s testing.
It hasn’t been easy. It hasn’t always been great, but it’s good and getting good-er all the time.
And pain. Loss. Uncertainty. Fear.
Bad choices and bounced checks.
To learn how to serve with a Spirit of humility, working hard at whatever God brought our way. Weddings, volunteer projects and short-term missions with (and outside of) our church, cultivating in us a sensitive heart for God’s people everywhere.
We’ve had to learn to do it joyfully, often thanklessly and with complete humility and integrity. We’ve had to learn how to fail, repent and rise and walk again.
We are not moving …yet, no. But there’s a wonderful project I need to tell you all about, done through an agency I’ll tell you more about, working with partners and fellowships already in place and seeking to meet the needs of people all around the world.
It’s BEAUTIFUL
Can I be honest? I’m rightly terrified. For all the reasons I could be and should be, I go in fear. But my awe and trust in God is far greater. All I have to do is look back at what He’s done and see how He’s patiently prepared us for this moment. Fourteen years.
Prayer warriors who will join us in praying for wisdom and discernment, for provision and protection as God sees fit.
We’ll need prayers to discern what God’s next steps might be.
In the meantime….nothing’s changed. Not really. I’ll just be hammering away and telling the stories of our very real God, very real and present in my very real life today. And I’ll be telling you more about this adventure along the way.