Parting is such a Bittersweet Symphony

Soon, very soon, we will be leaving on a jet plane and overused literature/pop culture references abound.  It seems impossible that we'll be spending this weekend in Minnesota with our families.  Being on the other side of the world has that effect on us.  The physical distance creates this illusion that Thursday night is further away than it really is.  Not only does the physical distance affect us, but the size of the transition also seems to warp our sense of reality.  Like going to college, getting married, and moving to Turkey we face this unknown, major change in our lives.  We can plan, suppose, and predict what life will be like around the next corner, but until we experience it we are shrouded in a fog of anticipation.  It is both challenging and confusing yet we relish the experience because growth comes through change.

Unofficially I'm about a week into my summer vacation and Hilary has one day left of work.  Then we are both unemployed without any future jobs lined up.  It is a position neither of us has been in since graduating from college.  Although self-inflicted, vulnerability and uncertainty still exist.  God has faithfully provided us with  comfort, peace of mind, and hope for whatever awaits us.  With my visa application for New Zealand still pending, we'll be leaving Turkey this week with the barest skeleton of a plan for the future: have faith.

The oft-referenced magnet from my mother-in-law's fridge, "Little by little, one walks far" is continuously applicable.  Little by little, we've gone from birth to childhood to adolescence (Mike) to adulthood (Hilary); from students to spouses to expats; from Minnesota to Turkey and soon back to Minnesota again.  These transitions have happened slowly, steadily, and with much perseverance.  Sharing the journey with Hilary the past seven years and into the future makes these steps a rich experience.

We'll put up a few posts from America addressing the protests here in Turkey and our reflections on the year, but this is likely our last post from our latest home.

As always, we love and miss everyone,
Mike and Hil