2012 was an epic year for our
family! For starters, we became a family, as opposed to just a couple,
with our firstborn Luke’s birth on November 8th.
I recall learning about a list of
life’s greatest stressors, the majority of which are bad things, but some are
good. It feels like we decided to pack
in the good major stressors in the past few months. Having a baby, starting a new career, and
buying a new home would make for a pretty good few years. For us it made for a whirlwind 4 months!
I graduated from nursing school in
early August and passed the board exam later that month. On September 10th, I began my
first nursing job at Frazier Rehab Institute (a part of Jewish Hospital and St.
Mary’s Healthcare, a part of KentuckyOne Health, a part of Catholic Health
Initiatives – confusing I know). I’m on
a pediatric rehab floor but ironically we don’t actually have many children. Instead, we get a lot of adults rehabbing from
strokes, orthopedic surgeries, respiratory failure/COPD, cardiac surgeries, traumatic
brain injuries, spinal cord injuries, and more.
I’ve already learned a lot and am very thankful for the job. I’m excited to use nursing as a way to serve
people for a long time.
Meanwhile Lindsey was growing more
and more pregnant. Luke’s due date of
October 24th came and went.
Two weeks later, he still was not here, so we began the induction
process at 8PM on November 6th.
At 1:16PM, November 8th after trying “every trick in the book”
Luke Porter Spencer finally entered the world via C-section. He wasn’t very happy about it, but we were
ecstatic. Well, I was, and Lindsey was
just heavily sedated and exhausted (she was quite a hero through the whole
labor process). Luke weighed in at a
whopping 10 lbs. 3.5 oz. and 21.5 inches.
He is healthy, handsome, and a joy for us, our family, and friends. As many have said, “there is nothing like ‘em”
– babies that is. We are so thankful for
the blessing of new life.
We named him Luke after the Luke of
the New Testament. This Luke was known
as “the beloved physician.” As a nurse,
I obviously have a high opinion of the medical profession. Luke was also a companion of the Apostle
Paul, which made him a missionary. Furthermore,
he is considered the author of the Gospel of Luke and the book of Acts – the story
of the early church. A physician/missionary/author
makes for a pretty good role model in my opinion. Oh, and Luke apparently comes from the Latin
word meaning “light.”
Porter comes from my
great-grandfather (my mom’s, mom’s father) Hoyt Porter. Though I never met him, the story I’ve been
told makes him a fine role model as well.
He was a minister trained at the same Southern Seminary that I
attended. He pastored and started
multiple churches in the small, Eastern Kentucky town of Hyden. He learned Russian to be a missionary there,
but after a couple years was kicked out of the country. He later ministered for a time to
Russian-speakers in Baltimore. He was a
military chaplain during WWII and was a principal at the Fruitland Baptist
Bible Institute in NC.
Anyway, back to 2012. Since a new career and new baby weren’t
enough excitement, we decided to buy our first house as well. We closed on December 7th and
moved in on the 22nd. Moving
from Louisville to Clarksville, Indiana was a tough decision for me, being a
proud Kentuckian. But we just really
liked the place, felt it was the best deal we’d seen, and figured it’s still
close enough to the places important to us.
We are happy to be here and look forward to making our house a home.
For these three reasons alone (new
career, new baby, new house) this has been an epic year. Some other lesser excitements: in March my
beloved Kentucky Wildcats won their 8th National Championship –
beating the dreaded Louisville Cardinals and Indiana Hoosiers along the
way. (Side note – this continues a
Spencer family tradition: my dad, myself, and Luke were all born in years that
UK won a title). In April, I ran my first half-marathon and finished 723rd. I’m not sure what that means but I completed
the race in 1hr 41min – 7:43/mile. I
loved the race atmosphere and was shocked (in a good way) at my time. I had a progressive series of goals: 1) to
finish without walking, 2) to break 2hrs, 3) to break 1 hr 50 min. Check,
check, check.
In terms of ministry in 2012: I was
able to serve on the planning team for Sojourn’s free medical clinics, heading
up the nurses’ station. Lindsey and I
spent our second year working in the Shelby Park Community Garden. This summer, we also had the opportunity to
serve as interim HOPE team directors at Jeff St. This, of course, is the program that brought
us together in the first place.
Some other blessings: For the first
time, I got to be a co-best man in my good buddy Darrell’s wedding. Our family celebrated my grandpa Spencer’s 90th
birthday. We made a surprise visit to NC
to see Lindsey’s family and announce our pregnancy. We made short visits to Gatlinburg (TN),
Asheville (NC), Mammoth Cave (KY), the Albertson’s farmhouse in the mountains
of Virginia, and one of the coolest small towns I’ve seen, Madison, IN.
These were just the highlights of
an amazing year – possibly my most memorable year yet. I often feel like Lou Gerhig when he said, “I
consider myself the luckiest man of the face of the earth.” Of course, I don’t consider myself lucky, but
blessed by a gracious God. I am
overwhelmed by the blessings the Lord has poured out on us this year. At the same time, I realize the Lord is not
obligated to only give success and happiness.
I think of friends and family who have dealt with hard to diagnose
illnesses, the loss of loved ones, financial hardships, and other difficult
life situations that for whatever reason I’ve avoided. I don’t understand why this is the case and I
sometimes feel guilty for being so blessed.
I hope that when harder years come, I can say like Paul, “I know how to
be brought low, and I know how to abound.
In any and every circumstance, I have learned the secret of facing
plenty and hunger, abundance and need.”
But for 2012, I praise the Lord and am thankful for his goodness.
