If I could live anywhere in the world, I'm sure it wouldn't be here.  But here is good.  I'm sure most people wouldn't choose to live where they currently are, if other factors weren't holding them in place.  Finances, I'm sure, prevent many people from relocating.  Family and loved ones close by I'm sure root many people to their geography.  Weather for others, and no place or reason to move for even more.  But what actually brought us here?

There is an easy answer: a job.  We were losing the one we had to the economy and so we went looking for another.  When money is tight, people don't go running to counselors, as paying the bills is always the priority.  As such, the entire field was shrinking.  This place in Alaska was looking to grow their outpatient department as other, more costly departments, were being shrunk.  When having a job is the goal, and the field is being whittled away, any job is a good thing.

I would have flipped burgers if it took care of the family.  Nothing in the middle of Tennessee opened up, nothing south into Tampa presented itself, and nothing northwest into Des Moines became available.  That corridor was where our focus was, and Alaska's position was the only opportunity out of that area where we put out feelers.  We had previously identified it two years earlier, prior to moving to Tennessee.

I think we were being emotionally prepared for the severity of this jump by that initial contact.  When our house finally sold in Iowa, we squatted for the winter close by, and kept everything as stable as we could.  It was then that we threw open the sashes and let in all of the options.  This position was one of them, however we chose the option half-way between the in-laws, and right close to Val's sister, in Tennessee where the hills start.  It was a very good choice, and we were blessed to have had that time.  We visited my folks three times, which is three times more than we had been able to since they themselves moved down.  We were able to work in two visits to see Val's mom during those 18 months as well.  We were able to connect with Val's sister at least twice monthly, and oftentimes each weekend out of the month.  All in all, it was a great location, and a wonderful time; a tremendous extended vacation.

Sure, Alaska was the only option this time, but I believe that was purposeful on God's part.  I think we probably would have taken another option closer to those that we love.  When you look on the globe, Bethel is as far from Tampa as is Spain, western Africa, and southern Brazil.  We are in The Far Country, not just spiritually but also physically.  The ability to get back to family is our main concern; not the weather, not the culture-shock, not the dark.

We believe that Jesus Christ is not just our Savior, but also our Lord.   He is Sovereign, and we have choices, which can be boiled down to obedience or disobedience.  I would rather be going where God wants to me go like Isaiah, "Here am I.  Send me," than Jonah, as he willfully took off in the opposite direction.  With this being our one option at this time, I think the choice is not so much in the coming, but in the attitude with which we come.  He answered our prayer by giving us Tennessee for a time, which was certainly the desire of our heart.  As Christ has prepared us for Alaska, I am sure that He has prepared Alaska for us.  I see us as having a job to do while we are here.  I don't know His overall purpose yet.  I certainly would like to see the big-picture that He is painting, yet living with faith only gives me this daily brush-stroke.

I think the changes we had to go through as we moved to Tennessee helped in the transition to Alaska also.  At each point we down-sized.  We have thought that we were minimalists, yet with each move we have given away so much.  We haven't been living with nothing by any stretch of the imagination.  We have been blessed, and we want to be a blessing to others.  There is tremendous joy and freedom in knowing, better than we ever have before, the difference between wants and needs.

When people ask why we moved here, I have all sorts of pad answers.  I say that many people vacation where they want for a week or two, while we do it for a year or two.  I say that we wanted to show our children that there is more to life than middle-class, middle-America.  I say that we wanted to work in the third-world, yet still provide some stability for our children.  I say that we wanted a different culture, and there are more cultures mixing themselves up here than anywhere.  I say that the opportunities for ourselves and our family are greater here than anyplace we have found in the Lower 48.

All of these things are true.  What is the most true?  I am a therapist, and I was offered the position of a therapist.  Val has said that it is my calling; I certainly recognize it as my gift.  Will I always be a therapist?  Here am I.  Send me.