This time around it was reading Rachel Held Evans excellent bestseller "A Year of Biblical Womanhood." We liberal-minded, feminist evangelical girls both found much to love in the book, but Jenny in particular liked the fact that the author's husband Dan will call out, "Go Team Dan and Rachel" when something good happens for them. She was surprised to hear that Andrew and I already have a similar habit. Very occasionally, one or the other of us will announce a celebratory "Go Team Regester" after a good morning leading youth ministry together, or hosting friends for a fun meal, or even when we sneakily beat our entire small group at Mafia (as the Mafia) a few months ago.
Tonight I am sitting in my armchair surveying our home with a contented air. This morning I was despairing and depressed over our apartment's untidiness, but Andrew and I worked together to tackle the mess. Now our floors gleam, the kitchen is sparkling, the rubbish bins are empty, the laundry is humming in the basement tumble dryers, the fridge is full of healthy food, and I was even able to free the furniture of all dog hair, thanks to Andrew's help working out how to use the extendable arm on our secondhand Dyson. Lizzy, our 10-month-old shepherd mix puppy, is asleep at my feet, worn out and contented after a day when "mummy" and "daddy" alternated taking her out to play in the snow and giving her plenty of treats and cuddles indoors. Like Lizzy, I feel peaceful and contented. All is right with the world. Go Team Regester!
The truth, though, is that all is not right with the world. Not with the world at whole, and certainly not with this Regester world. We have big questions and concerns, major financial stress due to our unsold UK flat, and ongoing visa issues. We are still transitioning to life in America, to leading a ministry together, and to dealing with the many changes of the last 8 months. Although so much is going well on this side of the pond, particularly the middle school ministry that we moved here to lead, I am more and more frequently having to fight off a feeling of dread. I know this is normal and only to be expected after living through so much change in such a short time, and now living under such a daily strain. In the last two days, both Jenny and my youth work mentor have reminded me of the simple, powerful weight of breath prayers and last night I prayed "Lord Jesus Christ, son of God, have mercy on me, a sinner" as I drifted off to sleep.
This morning when I awoke and saw my sleeping husband beside me, I was filled with new hope. This journey has put pressure on our marriage, of course, but it has also brought us together in a new and profound way. More and more, we really are becoming Team Regester. I can be strong when Andrew needs encouragement, and when I start to crumble into a ball of weepy stress he takes over and is strong for the two of us. We have laughed together, argued together, adventured together, been sad together, and even been lonely together since we boarded that one-way fight on our second wedding anniversary last August. People on a team don't always agree, sometimes they don't even want to be around each other, but in the end they pull together and rediscover that chemistry that makes them a powerful, winning team. At our wedding, my uncle said in his sermon that Andrew and I were like two Clydesdales. Individually we'd both become quite independent, strong and dominant, but that now it was time to work together. There would be struggle and pain and frustration and even ridiculous laughter as we learned to operate as one but, in the end, we'd be able to pull exponentially more weight as a pair than separately.
The two and a half years since Andrew and I were married have certainly been eventful, but its only since August that I've really begun to feel like we are becoming those Clydesdales, whether it comes to something as simple as cleaning our home or as major as weathering an international move and dual career change. And so, although we still have many questions, many burdens, many stresses and strains, I wouldn't have missed the journey so far for anything. Go Team Regester!
