Messing With Happy

As it turned out, Marilyn and I didn't have long to talk or pray about moving to Kissimmee.  We had only been back in High Point for a day when John Willis called and offered me the job as Director of Youth Ministries at the First United Methodist Church of Kissimmee.  I had known I was a finalist, but I was still surprised to get the job offer.  I told John we would need a few days to pray and make our decision, and so we decided I would get back to him on Monday.  It was a Wednesday night.  A decision had to be made.

There were so many factors to weigh as we talked about what to do.  I did feel God pulling me towards FUMC-K.  I felt like they had a need and that the gifts God had given me would fit that need well.  They would pay me more, and the house we would live in was much nicer that the one at Springfield. Actually, the people from Kissimmee kept apologizing about how small the house was-  if they could have only seen what we had lived in the previous 8 years!  (In keeping with tradition, the front door and the bathroom lined up perfectly!)   We loved everyone we had met from FUMC-K, and were especially fond of John and Pat Willis.  The church had wonderful resources for youth ministry, including a huge youth room and a $10,000 youth budget (the largest I ever had at SFM was $800).  There were many reasons to go.  There were reasons to stay as well.  Our extended families were all in NC at the time, although my parents were planning a move to Florida in a couple of years.  We loved the people of Springfield Friends Meeting, and they loved us.  There was no real reason to leave.  My grandfather's words just kept coming to us:  "Don't mess with happy!"  Sunday came, and we worshipped and led youth group and were still not settled on an answer.  We laid in bed most of the night just talking and praying and asking God to lead us.  And somehow, without any burning bushes or lightning bolts, by morning we knew.  We were going to Kissimmee.  We called John and gave him the news, asking for 60 days to say good-bye and get our affairs in order, and it was done.  We had messed with happy.

Over those 60 days, as we were crazy busy with youth stuff at Springfield (see EVERYTHING!),  we also became more and more clear that Jesus was leading us to Kissimmee.  John kept sending us pictures of people (like the one at the top, featuring Kay Hill, an unknown, Brad Watson and Teresa Reep in the back, and Jill Souther, Erin Bay and Cyndi Reep in front; this is one of the actual pics John sent me) so we could learn names and faces;  he sent me a list of the volunteer youth workers so I could begin contact with them, and I sent them a survey to complete.  He called me looking for the name of a Billy Joel song (it was River of Dreams) that he wanted to use with the youth on a Sunday evening.  We drove to Kissimmee once with Marilyn's Miata and left it, using that time to see what we needed for our new home.  Then on April 14 (after our final week in NC including TWO Billy Joel concerts, one in Charlotte and one in Chapel Hill!) we drove our rented truck and my car down, surviving a torrential thunderstorm in Jacksonville along the way.  We arrived to find 20 or more of our new friends ready to help us unload the truck.  It was an amazing start to a new chapter in our lives.  We were nervous and excited and ready to get started.  A dinner and pool party were planned for us the following evening at the home of Dr. Jill Painter, one of the youth ministry volunteers.  Everything seemed perfect.  Who knew we were about to be told to "Get outta' town..."

Because of Jesus,