Monday, July 13, 2009

Fast-forward

"Is it over yet?
Can I open my eyes?
Is this as hard as it gets...?"

These lines from Kelly Clarkson's new song "Cry" keep running through my mind.  We've been in the new house for over a month, the boxes are mostly unpacked and even the pictures are up.  So the hard part is over, right? Wrong! We painfully pulled up our roots from our old home and are trying to transplant ourselves into our new surroundings.  This can be an exciting time, discovering new places and friends, tackling new challenges - but mostly it is just exhausting to create new routines and find all of the necessary services, especially for those of us who have no sense of direction! 

Being a minister's wife adds a whole new dimension to this experience.  We have left behind a whole church family and are expected to keep our distance to give the new minister a chance to build relationships, which leaves us feeling cut off from our friends and guilty about abandoning them. Our new church family is wonderfully warm and welcoming, but we don't know them - many of them will be our friends and I know that we will eventually feel like part of the "family", but right now we are outsiders.   This is especially hard for me since I am an extreme introvert - when we walk into church on Sunday morning I know that all eyes are on us as the new minister's family, and I cringe. I awkwardly try to talk to people after church and strive to remember as many names and faces as possible so I don't offend someone by forgetting them next week! And in my darkest and most depressed moments I think "which of these outwardly friendly faces will turn against us first?" We have served two other churches and I know that this happens in every church - each minister has strengths and weaknesses, each church member has certain expectations, and these do not always match. Inevitably someone gets upset or critical, starts complaining or leaves the church, and to me this is always ugly and I take it personally. But I do understand that the church is full of imperfect people (that's why we are there) and we all have to work together to support each other in spite of behavior that is not always Christ-like. 

If only I could find a wormhole (I'm married to a Trekkie) and get to six months from now immediately! The hard work of adjusting would be over, and we would be in a comfortable routine.  But life doesn't work that way.  I never saw the movie "Click" but I understand that fast-forwarding through time didn't work very well for Adam Sandler's character, and I guess it wouldn't work for me either.  So I need to take it one day at a time, one person at a time and create relationships, and although it is hard I know it will be worthwhile.

4 comments:

  1. Remember that a lot of people who love you are praying that you are able to make a rapid adjustment to your new life. Think of us as anchors to the familiar parts of your life. I pray that you find many NEW anchors quickly...Love you! Linda

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  2. All kinds of relationships always take time...I will be praying for you - it sounds like you are really making an effort already, and I bet people recognize and appreciate that...just curious, did they throw you a welcome tea, or something like that? I'm sure all churches are different, but that seems like the kind of thing somebody would think of doing for you!

    Hang in there...

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  3. Thank you, Linda and Leigh! The church has been great - they had "get to know you" dinner for us before we moved in, then a welcome reception with a (surprise) cake to celebrate our 25th wedding anniversary after we moved in.

    This blog has been very cathartic for me in this move- thanks to the "23 things" - I never would have thought of blogging otherwise!

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  4. My pastor preached a sermon which basically said that "the process is the point" in life and that growth comes through the journey. I know it isn't what you want to hear but hang in there! Praying for you!

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