Convalescing

With the wild storms of Christmas and conference-related activity having passed us by, we are turning our attention to more mundane concerns. Like nursing our colds. And sifting through mail. And believe it or not, job hunting.

“Following Christ 2008”:/news/2008/birthing-something-new/ went just fabulously — we’ve heard nothing but rave reviews. Jon worked his tail off, but all that hard work really amounted to something beautiful. I was down there for part of the conference, and it truly was spectacular. From the most well-known speaker to the smallest conversation between two delegates, it was clear that God was doing amazing things there.

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Rosie and Lucy joined us (chaperoned by Grammie and Grandpa — thank you again!) for a couple days of the conference. Lucy had a blast looking out the window at the cars 44 stories below from our “hotel”:http://www.marriott.com/hotels/travel/chidt-chicago-marriott-downtown-magnificent-mile/ room (see photo). The girls did quite well, and Mama was able to pop in and nurse the baby between conference duties.

The last few months have definitely taken a lot out of us, but for a good cause. I have been praying that the conference would be worth the sacrifice — and it certainly was.

So now we are starting to settle back into a slower pace. It feels like a huge luxury to have time just to wander around the house and tidy up — putting away a Christmas trinket here, stirring the simmering “Sloppy Boyds”:http://boydsnest.org/news/2006/homemade-sloppy-boyds/ there, folding a few pieces of laundry in between. We intentionally scheduled some rest time in these first few weeks of January, and we are grateful for it.

This rest period feels especially precious to us as we received some surprising and discouraging news right before the conference. It was announced that Jon’s position at InterVarsity is being eliminated as a cost-cutting measure — so as of March 1, he will be laid off. He’s been assured that this is no reflection on his performance — rather, it is due to shortfalls in funding for Following Christ 2008. He’s sad to conclude eight years with InterVarsity this way, but that’s how it goes.

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p{color:gray}. Photo: Here’s what Lucy thinks about the future.

We do have hope that good things will come from this unexpected change (and a sudden one, in just 53 days!), and we are conscious that we have options before us that many others do not have. Nevertheless, it is easy to find ourselves anxious and fearful about the future at times, and we ask for your prayers as we seek God’s next steps for our family.

In the meantime, I’m just going to try to clean the house and pretend that everything is normal! Denial is a gift, at least for a little while. :)

5 Replies to “Convalescing”

  1. That picture of Lulu is precious. It’s like the Bob Marley song: “Every little thing is gonna be allright…” It will.

    I love this after-the-holidays lull. (you’ve got it double, having had a conference right on top of the holidays) Around here, January is my month to clean up and out – believe it or not, I’m actually cleaning up seeds I left laying around in the summer. And in my giant Christmas-decoration-box sort, I actually came across some full packing boxes we haven’t touched since we moved from Chicago. Four years ago! So now I have cordial glasses, vases, framed photos and candles I’d been missing. I LOVE JANUARY!

    And I love you guys!

  2. Ann, that is quite a shock to hear that Jon’s going to be laid off. I will be praying for you guys. Thanks for the sloppy joe recipe too — those sound really good.

  3. HI Ann,
    Just a friend of the Lenz’s dropping in to see how you are. Just an encouraging note that I will pray specifically for you guys today and Jon’s future job process. I hope it’s encouraging to know that folks from across the states are praying for you.

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