We moved to the city of St. Louis in order to change the world through public education. Every one of my preconceived notions about that decision eventually fell flat. I cannot express how wrong I was about so much in my life at the time.
We did find a good church, however, and we made some fast friends. We were all DINKs (dual income, no kids) at that point, and the amount of time in front of the television, or out to eat, or doing anything unproductive is astounding to look back on.
We really hit it off with one couple there. We did SO MUCH together. I’m ashamed to say it, but we even had a specialized instagram hashtag documenting the many events we partook in throughout the city of St. Louis. The hashtag included the word forever, which is ironic, as you’ll see.
Eventually, we decided to vacation together. The wives really wanted to go to Universal Studios to experience the fictitious world of a popular chap with a unique facial scar (who will remain nameless). We drove there in the same car, stayed at the same AirBNB, and experienced the experiences simultaneously.
Eventually, we “grew apart”, or so we were told. They had a kid a few months before we did. We started talking about how we would raise the kids, educate the kids, etc. The wife and I had that Dumb Obedience I’ve mentioned before. This was our issue, I believe.
As our friend group started hanging out without us, we wondered why. Direct questions did not yield satisfactory answers. A mature couple in our lives gave this advice: “When you live an intentional life, faithful to God, it will be intimidating to those who aren’t.”
Our commitment to structure our family according to the Scriptures cost us a few friends. Our decisions were different from theirs. Ultimately, our friends knew that the Klunicks were more conservative than we knew we were. This wasn’t politically conservative (you don’t find many of those in St. Louis city). We were Biblically conservative. God used having our first child to change our desires. We didn’t want to waste time and money anymore, we wanted to build a legacy. The poor decisions we made for ourselves would definitely not cut it for our children.
In the end, it was all worth it. That momentary affliction was part of what God used in our lives to bring us to where we are now. I’m not the most mature Christian, but I’m so thankful that I’m not who I was back then. I have so much more to live for now. I wouldn’t change it for the world.
Mr. Klunick Tutoring 