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provisioned

We are moved. Maybe I should say, we have been moved. (We had a lot of help.) We were also moved, in the emotional sense, more than we can say. Here is some of the gauntlet of goodness that we ran the last couple weeks, trying not to stop long enough to question our decision to go:

  • Certain superwomen from the church came over each day for a couple weeks to help pack the kitchen, pantry, and nursery, or simply play with Valor while I got stuff done. (Valor loved this arrangement.)
  • Certain friends came over, ignored the obvious practical needs of packing and cleaning, and simply looked into our eyes, asked how we were doing, listened, and prayed. Or played board games with us.
  • Our church sent us out with so much pomp, we felt like exalted missionaries to the heathens. We were marinaded in prayers and tears, feted with food and goodies, and gifted with cards and thoughtful words. Oh, to have a bottle of this to uncork during lonely times to come!
  • Our pastor preached a sermon partly as an exhortation directly to us to continue to work hard and not be discouraged. Our friends on the Mission Committee gathered around us and prayed for us on stage. We were basically spoiled to death and made much of, lovingly speaking.
  • A sweet family dinner and worship time with my best friend Susan and her family (at this point I was really wondering why we were moving, again…?)
  • We were given our very own going-away party, where everyone took pictures with us and wrote us kind notes. The centerpiece was a (I’m stretching for an adjective that is extreme enough here) spectabulous set of cakes and cupcakes by none other than…Jen and John Y. of Cake Wrecks fame. Highly desired by Letterman andΒ  Martha, they remain, in spite of all that’s changed, our super steady and loyal friends.

  • Our excellent and indefatigable friend, the same John Y. of above, was our volunteer pack-master and truck driver, and his associate pack-master was our brother Steve A.. On truck-packing day rumors wafted back to my location inside the house that we would need to start prioritizing what we reeeeeally wanted…I panicked! I wanted it all! But we prayed, and John Y. and Steve unpacked and re-packed and got almost everything in there after all.
  • After everyone left, we were trying to fit the last things into our cars and clean the house so it would show well. Valor was tired, crying, and I was exhausted and about to cry too when I finally called a friend to ask her to come back and help us finish. When she arrived with her reinforcements she sent me off to the house we were staying at so I could put Valor to bed.

I could tell you ten more examples of the incredible acts of service we received during this time. Will we ever have friends like this in New Bern?

The next day I set off with Valor and my friend Cheree to get to New Bern in three days via Savannah and Raleigh. Valor checked out the dandelions (why didn’t I know that he would try to eat it instead of blow it?), the historical markers, and the park swings. John, Cheree’s husband Josh, and John Y. and the truck followed the next day in a trip with less stops.

A friend of mine gave me an old-fashioned handkerchief as a parting gift. I put it in my glovebox because I expected that I would dissolve in tears as we left Orlando, but I didn’t, and I still haven’t. Stripping all our belongings out of our house made it feel less like my house, and therefore easier to let go of. Traveling with friends was a great way to keep loneliness at bay a little longer, too, and then we had family staying with us here a while as well. Saying goodbye to all the people we love in Orlando doesn’t really seem real yet. Long-distance friendships aren’t as hard to maintain as they used to be, or maybe I’m deluded into thinking that things haven’t changed that much. Maybe I’m still in shock, or just enjoying a measure of God’s peace. Anyway, I’m doing all right in the quiet spaces of my life right now.

Next post: moving into our new (rental) house in New Bern, and John’s first week on the job…

And big update: our house in Winter Springs is under contract after just over a month on the (terrible Central Florida) market! Praise God!!!! Please pray that the appraisal matches our price so the buyer’s funding comes through.

15 thoughts on “provisioned”

  1. Hi Gjertsens!

    Britney and I enjoyed your post on moving. We’re so glad the move went well and that you’re settling in well!

    Isaiah says to tell Valor hi.

    Love,
    Julianne and Britney

  2. Great to hear all about your news! Keep it coming!

    Miss you guys!

    Neat how you and Valor were checking out Historical places, and ones that mentioned the valor of our nations’ heroes!
    We always love(d) checking out the historical spots too when traveling.

  3. From a complete stranger…wishing and praying for all the best. Sometimes opportunites we don’t especially like or have the saddest feelings with lead us onto brighter days full of opportunities we wouldn’t have otherwise seen! πŸ™‚

  4. Welcome to NC! I almost ended up in New Bern, but took a job near Chapel Hill instead. Now I am a stay at home mom and I love it! Praying that you get settled and that your house sells!

  5. I hope you are enjoying North Carolina so far. I can’t imagine how hard it must have been to leave Florida, but I know that you will find someone there who already knows about James and your family via CakeWrecks.
    This blog I pasted below was started by a father who grew up in a town near mine, but who now lives in Athens, GA. He and his wife were told early in their pregnancy that the baby had Trisomy 18. The blog reminds me so much of what you went through with James, I had to share it with you. Both stories have really touched the hearts of many.
    http://hogandominy.blogspot.com/

  6. I’m only a lurker, but have been following your family via Cake Wrecks. I just had to comment on how handsome Valor is, and in the last picture of this post I see so much of James in him. You have a beautiful family. Much luck with the sale of your house and your new life.

  7. Hi! Another Cake Wreck follower here (well, been following you all for awhile too, I hope that doesn’t sound creepy)…I’m in Raleigh and just want to say welcome to NC!! We moved here from Florida as well (strangely enough, from the same area–we used to live in Altamonte Springs, although I originated in Chicago) and we weren’t as rooted in the community, in a church, and with family as you guys but we love–LOVE–it up here. Praying that you guys settle in quickly and start to feel at home!

  8. O I am so happy that the family is safe and sound in your new home. And it will be and feel like home soon enough. All those wonderful friends you have are a reflection of the wonderful friend you and John are. And really, it’s only fair that God shares y’all with more of the world. I’m praying for you guys! But let’s talk about Valor, he has got to be the most adorable non-Asian kid ever! Looks more and more like John in his pictures. He looks like he’s got some serious thumbsucking self-soothing skills. I’m so jealous.

  9. Dear John and Abby,

    You are deeply missed by all of those Floridians who love and thank God for you. The folks of New Bern will be totally blessed by your family. Squeeze Valor for me!

  10. Glad to hear the move went well. I know from experience that moving can be incredibly insane. Thank God for good friends! πŸ™‚
    Praying y’all get settled in quickly and make lots of wonderful new friends! πŸ™‚

  11. After being sad for seeing Pastor Curtis loose a second member of his leadership team in such a short span of time (the first one being Pastor Clay), I was glad to see, no, make that remember that our God is Sovereign and moves and takes away people as He so chooses. So my line of thinking now goes like this, “This is the day that the LORD has made. Let us rejoice and be glad in it. The LORD has given. The LORD has taken. Blessed be the Name of the LORD!” Gjertsens, I only have one regret: I have not been able to get to know you guys deeply as I have some other OGCers. One day, at the return of Christ, it will be a reality. For now, my heartfelt prayers of blessing are lifted up on your behalf. Blessed new (temporary) life in New Bern! – Normand (the other OGC Canuck…)

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