Me, move to California?? I don’t think so.
One year ago this week, Dave and I were finishing up a one-year contract with a Christian school in Florida. We had no clue where’d we go once that contract ended. We were, in fact, still adjusting to that move – a move that had taken us 45 minutes from “home” (Tampa, where we’d lived for a total of 10 years).
One year ago this week, we’d sent applications to Christian schools as close as Tampa and as far as South Korea. We had interviewed with several schools and none seemed like the right fit. I am an English teacher with a passion for AP courses and musical theater. Dave is a Bible teacher with a passion for digging deep into God’s word. We have three kids who love sports and the arts, and we want them in a school where both those activities are encouraged. It’s tough to find a school that can check all those boxes!
One year ago this week, I was job-hunting. As always, I put in the parameters “High School English and Bible” in the Christian school job search database. Calvary Christian Academy popped up. It was near San Diego. Dave always wanted to move back to California. The Golden State had gotten deep into his bones as a child living in the Imperial Valley – no Mexican food anywhere in the world tasted as good as the Mexican food in Southern California (this is true!). So I researched the school, and found, to Dave’s shock, the principal, Dan, had gone to high school with Dave in Long Island, NY over 25 years ago!
Calvary Christian Academy in Chula Vista CA
One year ago this week, Dave reached out to Dan and discovered this school had a need for an English teacher with a passion for AP classes and musical theater; they also needed a Bible teacher with a passion for digging deep into God’s word. The school also had sports for the kids – all the sports they love and then some.
One year ago this week, we had a Skype interview with the CCA administration. We were drilled on our relationships with God, our philosophy of teaching, and questioned why we would even consider a cross-country move to a school we knew nothing about. We, in turn, asked questions about the school, its academics, and why they would consider hiring a couple, sight unseen, who lived across the country.
A year ago this week, our world changed forever. Within a week of our interview, we were offered the job. We accepted after a few days of prayer and seeking advice from friends and family. A month later, we had packed up our house in Florida and began the 2400 mile drive to a school we had never seen, in a city we had never visited, with no house to move into, and no friends within a 100 mile radius.
A year ago this week – May 2015 – I could never have imagine what life would look like this week – May 2016. This week, my oldest will go to prom with her “squad” – an amazing group of kids who have taken her in like she’s been here forever, not just 11 months. This week, I’m watching my middle daughter play softball on a team that is virtually unstoppable. A year ago, she had no idea she could even play Varsity softball, and this year she has been a starter on softball and Varsity volleyball. This week, my son will help lead worship for the middle school youth group, playing an instrument he had never even picked up last year. This week, Dave and I will teach classes we love to students we love in a school that we love – a school that was just a just a position on a job search board a year ago.
One year ago this week, unknown to us, God would begin a process that would stretch us, change us, and move us in more ways than we could have imagined. The year has not been easy, but it has been good. We still miss Florida – we probably always will. But God has blessed us for our obedience in following His lead to California. He has shown us His power, His grace, and His mercy throughout this year.
What has God done for you this year? What does He want to do for you next year? Is He asking you to take a leap of faith? If He is, learn from us…take that leap. God is with you on this side, and He is waiting for you on the other side. God is good. ALL the time.
