Early Start on Thankful

I know that thanksgiving is more the theme of November than it is October, but I'd like to get an early start on it - want to join me?

I had an entirely different post planned for today, but alas, yesterday went nothing as planned. After working all day, I sat down at 8 p.m. and realized every single thing on my to-do list for work remained just as it had been when I got up in the morning. Some days are like that. The best laid plans don't even come close to happening. For the list-driven among us (ahem...Bekah), that is a challenge!

Initially I'd planned to power through into the night to finish it all and do my own personal tasks also, but I just didn't have it in me. Instead, I took a long shower and settled in to journal, read the Bible, and pace out the last 2000 steps of the day. (The workout got lost in the shuffle, too.)

When days go astray, I try to spend extra time thinking about the abundance of things I have to be thankful for, because that's a better use of my time than wallowing in out-of-control days.

And one of the things I'm thankful for right now is the team we work with and the way we've been unexpectedly been coming even closer together in the last few weeks.

When we came to interview for this job, we met the Community Advocate Support Couple, who had already been working here since the start of WillowBridge. We had no idea how they felt about having a new couple come in to take the lead. It's an awkward transition, right? Leading when you're brand new to a field? Leading those who have more experience, knowledge, and understanding? Leading without overstepping? 

We met them that day, but we didn't really have a chance to talk to them too much. We were in a whirlwind of tours and interviews and more. After we were hired, they both friended me on Facebook, and we tried to learn more about each other that way, but it wasn't until we arrived here that we truly got to know them.

In addition to being a little nervous about how they might feel about us coming in to lead, we wondered if we would all just gel together as a team. Just because people work together doesn't mean they make great personality fits, and we knew that. (We've experienced it before, in fact!) 

What a blessing it has been for us that Tim and Justine not only made our transition run so smoothly, but they have quickly become dear friends to us. Early on they assured us that they looked forward to our leadership and didn't resent it. And yet they were so patient with us as we tried to learn this new field, with all its lingo and acronyms. They generously supplied answers to our (probably endless) questions and carried more than their fair share of the load for a while as we tried to get our bearings. 

And work aside, they pitched right in as friends, too. Tim helped us touch up paint in our apartment before we moved in. He also helped us unload our truck the day we arrived. Justine left encouraging notes on the desk when we were heading off duty into our weekends. They were so sweet to let us be part of their baby girl's life, even though we were new to them and her.

We've loved hosting them for dinner and meetings in our apartment. We almost always call or text each other even on our days off - just to shoot the breeze. 

But most recently, we've started doing devotions together as a staff (over email) and that has been my favorite. I wrote some devos for our tenants, and on a whim, I started sharing them with Ryan, Tim, and Justine. And now every night, after the busyness of the day has calmed a bit, we send around a message thread, sharing what we learned from our study that day. We've shared hard things and thankful things and a-ha moments and things for which we need accountability. I've come to look forward to those emails SO MUCH!

A couple of nights ago, the theme of the devo was thankfulness, and I sat in actual tears at our kitchen table, reading their kind words. We made it onto their thankful list - and they had made it onto ours, too!

Many years ago, one of my IWU co-workers told me she was very picky about the people she hired for her office, because she spent more time with them each day than she did her family. She said it mattered to her that they were good workers, but more than that, she wanted them to be good friends, because she did life with them. 

That was true for her, and I'm learning it's even MORE important when you live and work all in the same space. To have co-workers who are great at their job but also great at doing life with you is an extra special blessing. They're the newest parts of our framily tree, and we sure are thankful God matched us all up.

What are you thankful for today?