Move-In Day
Thank you to all of you who prayed for us yesterday as we moved into a new headquarters. Thank you, too, to those who wrote yesterday. It meant a great deal to me.
We began the day enjoying donuts from Ralph’s. Then we gathered in the empty L-shaped office area to pray for God’s blessings on the new facility and on our mission. Our son, John, and our daughters, Bethany and Mary Evelyn, most of our grandchildren, and all of the rest of our team were present either in person or on Zoom.
We celebrated midday with pizza and cake and ice cream. At the end of the work day, we planted a maple tree together. When the day was over and everyone else was gone, Ray suggested that he and I take a selfie by the wall that separates our side by side, identical cubicles.
We took another picture with a background of other people’s cubicles . . .
. . . and another with the reception area in view.
Here are some scenes that got us to that point.
Josh and Nate dug into the shrink wrapped cubicles that had been waiting for this day.
Here Phil and Nate and . . .
. . . Josh and Titus snap walls together.
Ray pulls the shrink wrap off the sofa that had been sitting in the breakroom.
And Ray and I unwrap the bookends . . .
. . . to decorate our display shelves.
It turns out that those shelves had become very dirty, so I spent a while cleaning and polishing them!
We got the cubicle walls up and got the shelves cleaned and decorated with bookends and curriculum.
Some of our team even worked in their cubicles yesterday afternoon. Though we still have some office supplies to unpack and some odds and ends to do, such as hanging pictures on the wall today, I feel satisfied as I say, “Mission accomplished.” Now it’s time to use this space for God’s glory.
Among the kind responses to the “God Has Been Kind to Us” post from yesterday was a response from a mama whom I’ll call Lynn. Lynn’s younger child graduated from homeschool this past Friday. Lynn told about flying his sister and a friend in as a surprise and a gift. This meant that the whole family could be together. Lynn wrote:
We are grateful for the opportunity to homeschool both children. I know God sustained us through it along with the many prayers of my family – especially my precious mom and dad. To have them there for this milestone was more than I could ask. My blessing cup is constantly overflowing. 🙂
Now Lynn can say, “Mission accomplished,” too. Just like you, Lynn kept on keeping on. You train your children day by day so that someday they can accomplish their own missions and can say with the apostle Paul:
I have fought the good fight,
I have finished the course,
I have kept the faith;
in the future there is reserved for me
the crown of righteousness,
which the Lord, the righteous Judge,
will award to me on that day;
and not only to me,
but also to all who have loved His appearing.
2 Timothy 4:7-8