babies and bugs

The week has certainly had highs and lows for us, like any other, I suppose.

On Tuesday night I had the joy of celebrating with our dear friends and former roommates, Jon and Julie Koon, as they welcomed their firstborn son, Elliot Thomas Koon. He was born 9lbs 11oz, 20.75 inches long at 12:13am. Marisa, Rene and I were able to visit much later in the day, and we are so excited to love on this little guy for the rest of his life! (picture coming soon!)

Early Wednesday morning I woke up with a stomach bug that kept me from work and everything else through Saturday. My sweet mom came up Wednesday afternoon and spent the night to take care of me. So grateful for her! It was the first time I had really considered that Stephen will probably miss a few more bouts of sickness. Not having him at home was harder than I would have imagined beforehand, but we are both so thankful for nearby family and friends who are so quick to take care of me. Even before my mom came Lauren went to the store for crackers and Gatorade. I could not ask for a sweeter roommate. Please join me in praying that I have not spread the plague to either of them!

Last Sunday was the first day that the reality of separation set in. Stephen and I found ourselves spending the afternoon resting together after church even before we were engaged. Kimberly Johnson accompanied me to church to take the edge off of that aspect of loneliness, but it was the stillness of the afternoon that really caught me by surprise. I would so appreciate your prayers that the Lord's presence be especially tangible in those moments, both for me and for Stephen.

And speaking of Stephen, he is hanging in through these weeks of training. Unfortunately we cannot so broadly publish the details of his schedule and location, but we expect he'll be home for several days in about a week! Please continue to pray that the Lord will provide a believing or interested companion for this deployment. The military environment is typically a spiritually dry one, but we pray for some sort of saturation however the Lord sees fit. In the meantime, feel free to drop Stephen a line at any time at kump.stephen@gmail.com. 

Tomorrow I have a meeting with the FRG (Family Readiness Group) for our Troop. I am so grateful for the women the Lord has provided through this organization. They are the Army wives, girlfriends and mothers who know so much more than I do about the system, whether they have experienced deployment before or not. Please pray for opportunities to love and serve them well tomorrow and in the difficult weeks to come. 

my second marriage

As I laid me down to sleep

Last night I prayed the Lord would keep

Husband and marriage near His heart

To gently craft this work of art

Yet in the stillness as I lay

His whispered voice did softly say

"Remember, Kate, our wedding day,

How I was first your fiance."

As dawned the sweetest memories of

Two decades' worth of Savior love

I sighed a smile of peaceful rest

Nestled on my Husband's chest

Though silly daylight makes it sound

I treasure this dear thought profound

That I was wed at young age 4

To Jesus Christ forevermore

And twenty years into new life

God fit me to be Stephen's wife

And He will fit us ever still

To toil and relish His bright will

So near or far, home or deployed

We've greater hopes to be enjoyed

Beyond this momentary grace

When Jesus Groom is face to face

today's feast

Stephen left early this morning for the last stint of his state-ordered training. He will have one more week at home at the end of September (we think/hope), but thus begins the "single wife" season as Lauren moves in today and I start to figure out a new rhythm for life. 

We spent a wonderful long weekend at the beach with his parents, sisters, brother-in-law, nephews and Granny. I cannot think of a better way we could have used those last few days together. We had a blast with family and 16 sweet hours together road-tripping.

Grief did not truly set in until we turned out the light last night. There are certainly times when I dread doing things by myself, like going to church, taking care of my car, things with other couples. But the over-arching sentiment is always simple sadness over missing Stephen. Incredible how quickly and thoroughly he has become my best friend and my better half. These tears wet my pillow as we fell asleep together one more time last night.

Today, however, I am praising the Lord for mercies that come new every morning!

"Give us this day our daily bread..."

Joy. Purpose. Peace.

Today I am feasting on Christ, overwhelmed by His provision over my heart and soul. I am overflowing with gratitude for the precious people who have texted, called, emailed and prayed. I am looking forward to eating frozen yogurt for dinner, helping Lauren move in, spending time with the friends I've missed so much, and finding a new routine for a new season.

I almost feel guilty. The temptation is there. I feel like I should be crying my eyes out, hypersensitive, wanting to remind everyone how hard this is. But today just is not hard. Miraculously, graciously, affectionately not a challenge.

So I'll take it!

And when the temptation creeps back in to borrow tomorrow's difficulty, or Christmas's or July's, I am reminded of the Israelites gathering manna in the wilderness. In response to their cries of starvation in the desert, the Lord gives them bread from heaven each morning to satisfy their needs throughout the day. The bread, called "manna," was to be used as the Lord instructed:

"'Gather of it, each one of you, as much as he can eat...' And the people of Israel did so. They gathered, some more, some less...whoever gathered much had nothing left over, and whoever gathered little had no lack. Each of them gathered as much as he could eat. And Moses said to them, 'Let no one leave any of it over till the morning.' But they did not listen to Moses. Some left part of it till the morning, and it bred worms and stank...Morning by morning they gathered it, each as much as he could eat..." Exodus 16

Today I have a hunger, and the Lord has satiated it completely. To worry about tomorrow or the coming year as a whole would be to hoard a year's worth of worries to fit under one day's worth of grace. Today's grace is sufficient for today. And as hard and strenuous as some of the approaching days will be, they will not come alone; they will come with a full portion of all-sustaining grace.

Stephen's mom, Loette, was also sweetly encouraging this weekend. She has also faced the challenges of deployment in different phases of life, and I am overwhelmingly grateful to be so close to someone who has shared this burden. She said it can be tempting to view this deployment as something to "get over" before we can move on with the rest of our lives, especially given that we have not quite been married six months yet. But what she said next, and what I must continually be reminded of, is that deployment is now and it is life. This is the purpose for which we were married, this is the calling we have been given, this is where our vows and our prayers of commitment to God and to each other meet reality. 

And that excites me! We are one flesh no matter where our bodies are located, and we have been uniquely called to this time and place and mission to know God more and to make Him known. Praise the Lord for giving us hard things to do!

Now, that does not mean that I will relish every moment Stephen is away, or that I don't sometimes hope the next 13 months pass quickly. We did get married for a reason, in hopes that we would actually spend our lives together, and to deny that desire would be an indicator of hearts set askew. But there is overwhelming hope and joy in the presence of Christ and the good news of His gospel, that this life and this marriage are not about us or our happiness, and can therefore be beneficiaries of the hardship we expect in the year we have just begun.

Song of the week: "O Love That Will Not Let Me Go" by Indelible Grace

O Joy that seekest me through pain

I cannot close my heart to Thee

I trace the rainbow through the rain

And feel the promise is not vain

That morn' shall tearless be.

"But He said to me, 'My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.' Therefore I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me." 

2 Corinthians 12:9

before the throne

Below is a short summary of things we would love your prayers over as we move into mobilization. Thank you so much for bringing us before the throne of grace. We are excited to see what God has in store for the coming year.


Prayer Requests:

--Spiritual, physical, mental and emotional safety for both Stephen and I as we are apart.

--Companionship for Stephen in an environment that is largely void of the Gospel and non-conducive to meaningful relationships.

--Opportunities for Stephen to live the Gospel.

--Success in his mission and in leading his men well.

--Companionship for me and wisdom in how to spend my time.

--Joy for both of us as we enter a more difficult season of life.

--Meaningful communication between us as we seek to continue building a Gospel-centered marriage long-distance.

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Thank you for your loving commitment to caring for us, especially in this season of life!

livin' it up!

We've been making the absolute most of the time we have this last month!

...we have been to/in weddings...

...we sailed to Mexico...

...on the Carnival Triumph...

(and i left my contacts at home so i bought this super cute hat)

...we saw some Mayan ruins...

...and we climbed up on them...

...we sunbaked and snorkeled in Cozumel...

...and fell in love with our towel creatures...

...we also celebrated my 24th birthday at PF Chang with my family...

...and went to another wedding...

...next up: a weekend at the beach with Stephen's family!

Thanks for keeping up with us! Please continue to pray as we count down to goodbye next Tuesday morning.

June update

An update from mid-June:

Many people ask exactly what deployment means for life right now, and there are several facets to that answer.

Stephen was away at pre-deployment training for 10 days until last Monday. We have been referring to that week as a “trial run” for what deployment will be like for our marriage. We were able to talk most nights of the week, and I kept very busy with my brother’s 18th birthday, getting a new driver’s license, my dear friend Meredith’s wedding,  and a girls’ trip to the beach for Meghan Lukken’s bachelorette. 

Generally when people ask how I am doing my answer is “some days are better than others.” That proved true while we were apart as well. On the one hand, the Lord abundantly blessed the opportunities that “singleness” afforded me throughout the week. He opened up doors for some extremely meaningful conversations with dear friends on several occasions, conversations that I have prayed for consistently for some time now. It was quite clear that He is using our marriage to equip me for ministering in these situations. And so it was humbling, comforting and empowering to see His faithfulness in using our marriage so powerfully because we were not able to actually be together. He seems to consistently whisper His presence into the coming year, and my heart thrills in anticipation of the adventure He has in store for me at home while Stephen is away.

There were, however, difficult days. It will be an excruciatingly hard year. That is just the simple truth. Some sliver of my heart is terrified by how much I missed Stephen for just 10 days, and I dread to know the feeling of what months at a time will feel like. But honestly, there is so much freedom in embracing our journey as the trial that it is. I so appreciate the people God has sent to tell me that it will suck. They have greatly helped me in allowing myself to move past frustration over the struggle and toward allowing the Lord to minister to my heart. 

My prayer right now is that the Lord would teach me how to grieve and embrace the hardship in a way that allows Him to mold my heart as He desires, while at the same time having my hope rest so heavily on eternity with Christ that I am filled with joy and peace. My mind reels wrestling with what this balance will or should look like, and I am tempted to go with either extreme. But when I simply absorb the sadness and wallow in separation, I am paralyzed by fear and expectations that cannot be met. Still I know that to dismiss it as no big matter in light of eternity, though my pride would love to appear so immovable and “strong,” would not afford God the opportunity to draw me more sweetly to Himself in honesty and comfort. I pray He uses every tear and every triumph throughout the coming year to His glory and my good, sanctification.

As we prepare our hearts in the meantime, the Lord has greatly blessed us with time, resources, and community in the journey. We are unbelievably grateful for the church family we have found at the Village Church in Vinings. The families we have come to know and love have welcomed us with open arms and homes and have sincerely sought to support us in any way possible both now and in the months to come.

Juliet’s family has been gracious, understanding and hospitable in taking care of me, and Stephen’s current employer is incredibly generous with their military employees. Our families are supportive and loving, and we are so grateful to have them nearby. And I expect that Lauren Jones will continue to be an instrument of grace to me throughout our future roommate days—what a gift she is!

So we look into the coming week to see Stephen on a business trip Tuesday through Thursday, which means lots of girl time for me! We will also get to celebrate two weddings next Saturday, and I intend to dance enough to make up for the weddings for which the Army has and will render me “single.” Mr. Kump had better bring his dancing shoes!

We would so appreciate your prayers that we would have time for rest, for quality time together, and for meaningful relationships in our last several weeks of summer. The time crunch makes it difficult to know how to prioritize our time and energy. Please pray for wisdom and rejuvenation.

Thank you for praying and loving us so well.