I'll start from the beginning...
In 2007, Mr. Robinson and I were strangers. We were both choosing where we would attend college and had narrowed it down to two choices. We had the same two choices and ended up attending the same college, but never met each other there. Since we feel like God brought us together, we like to think that we would have met even if we had chosen the "other" college. But, that's irrelevant...what is relevant is that two kids from two different towns made a decision to be in the same place at the same time.
Mr. Robinson made much better choices than I did, and got involved in Campus Outreach at the college. Over time, a guy named Jeff became his best friend.
I made quite different choices, and got involved with drinking, drugs, & living the party life. Over time, a guy named Gibo became my best friend.
Fast-forward a bit. Gibo & Jeff are co-workers at Ruby Tuesday. Gibo got me a job there, and 4 months later Jeff got Mr. Robinson a job there as well.
You know the drill from here. We met, fell in love, & got married. We both decided to get big-kid jobs and Mr. Robinson started working at a Finance Company in town. I started working for my family's business. Mr. R hated his job and I loved mine.
We applied for a mortgage in the town we were living in and got denied, forcing us to move into my parent's home an hour away. Once we had moved, Mr. R was able to get his job transferred to a nearby town.
By working at this particular location, he met a man who worked for Edward Jones, a commission-based finance company. Mr. Robinson, still hating his job, decided to check it out. When it turned out to not be the best choice for us at the time, he eventually started working at Aflac after much prayer. We felt like that's what God wanted us to do.
Working for Aflac made so many things possible. Mr. Robinson worked a lot less, but also made a lot less money. In his free time, he day-dreamed of seminary and couldn't seem to get it off his mind & heart. We also learned that we could survive off of my income only, even though I wasn't making an extraordinary salary.
During this time was when the Women's Conference at church happened. I had known that Mr. R felt called to serve, but I was always afraid that I didn't have the necessary skills to serve beside him. The Women's Conference calmed me, and I realized that God had given me some pretty amazing skills that I could use to better serve Him.
This past weekend, something came about about Charlotte. I told him, "We could move to Charlotte." He thought I was joking. On Monday, he found a seminary to check out. We decided to look at apartments that were in the area while we were in town, since we live over 3 hours away. Mr. R set up a tour at the seminary and set appointments to view some nearby apartment complexes on Thursday.
As planned, we went to Charlotte yesterday. I gave you all of this background to document all of the different, seemingly random things that had to fall perfectly into place for this to work out the way it did. Which brings me to the day that changed everything.
We toured the campus. It was small, but nice. Our tour guide introduced us to several different professors, and we liked everyone we met. I remember thinking about how everyone always wants to separate church & state, church & school, church & politics...but at the seminary, everyone talked about God. People prayed for us, and it was a totally different experience that we both loved. Everyone was so nice...they were all filled with the joy only Jesus can give. We went out to lunch with the Dean of Admissions. We were able to talk about the school's doctrines and ask lots of questions. We learned that we agreed with everything the school represents. On the way back to campus, the DoA mentioned that some of Mr. R's favorite pastors attended the same type of seminary. I knew right then that we were moving to Charlotte, even thought my husband had not yet made his official decision. Once we were back on campus, they split us up - Mr. R met with their Old Testament professor and I met with their Dean of Women. I adored her...she was the older version of myself. I especially loved that she goes out of her way to make the spouses of seminary students feel like part of a community. I learned that I can even sit it on any class Mr. R takes and get credits for them, without having to pay for anything extra. After our individual meetings, we met back up to visit again with the Dean of Admissions. He gave my husband several books, some written by one of their professors. We discussed the different programs offered, tuition, book costs, and application process. We learned that Mr. R can get a scholarship that pays for HALF of his tuition just for being involved with Campus Outreach in college. He would be able to start classes July 30th - as in THIS MONTH. We left feeling very good about this particular seminary. I was completely at peace and felt happy.
We went to an apartment complex less than a mile from the seminary. It was everything we wanted - pet friendly, one bedroom, affordable, new, clean, nice, nearby seminary, in a safe part of town, and it even had things that weren't a priority for us. The complex has two pools and a fitness center. :) We liked what we saw, and when our sales lady asked if we wanted to fill out an application we went to the car for a little chat. We talked, and felt at ease about it. Yes, it was crazy fast - but that's just how we operate. Haha! So, we went inside and she offered to cut the application fees in half. We agreed to fill out the applications. Before she ran our credit reports and everything, she told us that if something came back "flagged" we may have to pay a security deposit. {I knew we would have to pay a security deposit. I made bad choices in college and ruined my credit. I applied for a Belk card a month ago and was denied...I was thinking we'd probably need a co-sign on the lease AND pay a security deposit.} A few moments later, the report comes back that we were 100% approved with no security deposit required. My jaw almost hit the floor. It was my favorite part of the day because it felt like SUCH a God-thing.
So...yesterday was the day that changed everything. We're moving to Charlotte in a month for my husband to attend Seminary.
This means so many heartbreaking things...like me leaving my job at the family business, leaving my parents & family, leaving our home... but, God will provide. He will take care of us on this crazy new adventure we're about to start. I've cried my fair share of tears over this, trust me. I started to tell my dad on the phone last night, and had to hand the phone over to my husband because I was sobbing too hard to speak. BUT, I am happy. I am excited. I am supportive. Most importantly, we are being obedient.
Here's to the craziest month of our lives...so far... :)
Do you ever itch for an adventure?
It's this horrible, wonderful little itch for more. Something different, new, exciting.
Something that would make all of your readers jealous and want an adventure of their own.
The itch of just wanting to go somewhere & do something out of the ordinary.
The silliness of the simple things that can scratch that itch.
But something...on adventures...you find yourself wanting something normal, regular, comfortable, and old.
Maybe it's like buying a new & really expensive dress.
You think it looks hot. You get home, and it still looks hot. So you go out and flaunt your dress but...pretty soon you're ready for your regular clothes that fit right. Clothes that don't require constant glances in the mirror from every angle because you don't know what you look like if you have your back to the mirror, left hand above your head, & your neck turned to the side. Maybe adventures are sometimes ridiculous...like new dresses.
But then...why do I keep getting the adventure itch?
A part of me wonders if it's God's way of preparing me for a calling into foreign missions. But when I think about it like that, the itch is suddenly gone. And I'm ready to go to revival and be around regular people who fit me in a regular, comfortable, and satisfying way.
But you know...I think I'd be happy in either place. And it scares me.
Coo Coo Kachoo,
Mrs. Robinson
