This past year has been the most difficult year of my entire life. I told Sebastian when we got engaged that we had to get married in 2009. I just had this feeling about 2010, and the feeling was right, just not in a happy direction. It is a blessing we did get married because I may have opted to simplify my life and exclude a long distance relationship. I am thankful we did marry and I have my sweet husband with me. This time last year I had been forced to quit my Internship, leave the comforts of my home and family, live in a medical apartment, and to endure daily radiation treatments that completely sapped me of energy and severely burned my thigh. I was in constant pain and simply put, miserable. There were days I wanted to just quit because it was too hard. And here I am today, just finished with my Masters degree, scarred but still around, and starting on a new adventure.
I have been hinting around about this but my new journey started in April of this year. Conference Saturday in April to be exact. I had slept late and missed the first session of General Conference. I had the opportunity to watch the last couple of talks and vowed I would listen to the replay on KBYU. No sooner had they said amen in the prayer that my telephone began to ring. It was my Grandma and she was asking me if I had heard the news. I told her what happened and then she told me that they had announced the building of the Winnipeg temple. I began to cry, Grandma had the same reaction. I knew I was suppose to be in Winnipeg, I was suppose to be there and a part of this progress. This feeling scared me and overwhelmed me. For one thing, I felt I could not leave my Dad in his health condition. I also knew that it would be career suicide. I fought against this feeling but I knew what I knew and I knew that I was, yet again being called on a "mission". I went back to my internship and I worried about the next step that would come in August. I wanted to stay at Southwest but I knew there was not a job. In fact I knew there was not any jobs in Utah. My time in Utah was coming to an end. It scared the crud out of me. Sebastian and I went back and forth trying to figure out what we wanted next. That feeling of being needed in Winnipeg persisted but I could not see a way that we could make my career work in Canada. I finally decided that I was just going to start sending out my resume and see what happened. I sent out 20 resumes in one day. I got a couple of responses that the jobs no longer existed but "thank you for (my) interest." Then I had one come back that she wanted to talk to me about the possibility of offering me a job. This job is in Devil's Lake, North Dakota. This is the job that is the very closest to Sebastian. I could drive home on the weekends, be apart of Sebastian's ward and start my new "mission". I have since interviewed with the district supervisor and had several correspondance with the woman who will be my direct supervisor. She has talked to me about housing in the area and how I can commute home to Canada. I meet her and the district supervisor in person on the 31st of August. I expect a forthcoming job offer. So I am flying to be with my sweet husband on Thursday August 25th. we have reached the end of being a part. Even if I do not get the job, I no longer have a reason to not be with my husband so I choose Sebastian and my marriage. But I have put this in my Heavenly Father's hands and I believe he has prepared a promising and wonderful next step for me. If I come back to St. George in September, it will be to move my belongings. Move my belongings half way across the country. It is a scary move but I am excited for this step, this progress in my, our family. So, when Stacy Schimbeck made the joke last Sunday about being asked to speak in Sacrament meeting but "they weren't moving" I think I laughed the loudest because yes, this Sunday is my last Sunday in the Washington 5th ward and No, I am not scheduled to speak in church. So, here is for progress and thank heavens I made it through the dark times to come out on the other side and enjoy the next part of my journey. I know that many people have blessed our lives this past little bit and have kept me in their prayers.
