Kosova: The Soft Launch, Chapter 1 Scene 2

I left Cincinnati.

For Kenosha.

You thought I was going to say Kosova, didn’t you? Kenosha is my first stop on this journey. I’m here a week before flying the friendly skies to my new home. My youngest daughter, Kendall, calls it a “soft launch.”

Speaking at the E3 Children's Ministry
 Conference In Wisconsin
Envision, Equip, & Encourage

I had made a commitment to conduct a teacher workshop in Wisconsin before I learned of the teaching position in Kosova. Now I see how perfectly God made it all work together. My second-born lives in Kenosha. I’m able to spend time with her, her husband and four of my grandchildren before I leave the States for ten months.

I’m away from home, but still able to talk with my mother and two other daughters via cell phone each day.

And I’m able to assess all that I packed. Or didn’t. Living out of my suitcase in Wisconsin brings to focus a few items I need to pick up. It also gives me time to tidy up some business in Cincinnati.

Time in Wisconsin gives me a morning to write and “publish” this blog since I have no guarantee how or when I’ll do that once I land in Prishtina. So you see, the post you are reading I am writing during the soft launch phase.

I’m looking at these four grandchildren and realizing how much they’ve grown since I last saw them in May. How much more will they have grown by the time I return? I am so blessed. I have eight grandchildren in all. Five boys and three girls.

I know they will grow and change. The oldest will be eligible for his drivers license the month before I return. The youngest will be talking.

But here is the real question. How will I have changed? In what ways will I grow? For the better, I hope. More patient? Maybe. More independent? Perhaps. More appreciative? Most likely.

There was a time in my youth where I charged ahead without a thought of the impact each decision, each turn in the road would have on my life. My dreams were big. My ideas about myself were also big. I find myself in a season of life now where I know how small I am. I know the dreams I’ve lived and the ones beyond my control. I know God has a plan and I’m willing to walk a path that allows that plan to unfold in his time. I no longer need to be in control. How will I change? Hopefully for the better. Most likely in ways I’ll never understand until later. Much later.

#LeavingOnAJetPlane