Sweet home Alabama – Kentucky??

by Leslie Sleigh

My heart has always been close to home despite the fact that I usually have whims to just “get up and go” somewhere very far away. And Lynyrd Skynyrd’s hit single resonates with me because I grew up on a small farm and ranch in Alabama. For 20 years, Alabama was my home, and I really enjoyed living there.

When my now-husband asked me to marry him in 2004, I knew that would probably mean not living in Alabama anymore. At the least, it would mean 5 years in a distant seminary.  The idea of leaving my hometown hit me hard, and it took some time to come to grips with living in a state I considered to be the north.

Without family around and without those familiar stores, jobs, and activities, it was necessary to discover things with my husband. We made new acquaintances – some close enough to be called friends – explored new parks, tried new restaurants, and participated in new activities. We really came to know Louisville together. Even though he’d been  here a year before we were married, things were new to him, as well. And our explorations have given us a unique connection that we would not have if we had stayed home.

Most importantly, we were truly able to experience the “leaving and cleaving” part of marriage. I’m very close to my family, but being far away from them opened the opportunity to also become very close to my husband. Other ministers’ wives had told me that moving away from family the first year of marriage is a wise choice because it anchors a wife’s dependence in her husband. Boy, did it ever! Facing ridicule at work is always difficult, but having a comforting husband at the end of the day makes it easier. Under-cooking a cake and over-cooking french fries seems disastrous, but not when a husband is willing to eat them anyway. Not finding a best friend has brought me to tears, but an understanding husband is the best friend of all. Normally, I would’ve just called up my sister or chatted with my mom over dinner about those issues. But without easy access to them, the listening ear of choice was my husband’s. And rightly so.

We’ve been in Louisville for four years now. Yes, the move was difficult. Leaving friends, family, pets, parks, and hot weather behind was not fun. But the longer I’m in Louisville, the more I appreciate it and actually enjoy it. Yes, I now call Kentucky my home sweet home. And for those of you who may be experiencing the same things I did, take heart. It does get easier.

Leslie Sleigh is a SWI student and wife of Doug Sleigh, seminary student. The couple moved to Louisville in 2005 and attend Highview Baptist Church, Fegenbush. Leslie works in marketing for Farm Credit Services and is a member of the IAAP and the PWM Board.