A year ago, my husband and I made the decision to downsize our expenses and head into the next chapter of life carrying a more simplified plan.
This included many things but there was one main thing. Moving.
Let it be known, this was not the original plan.
Six years ago as my husband’s job transplanted us, from Virginia, back to Texas. After decades of living the nomadic life: 3 countries, 4 states, 10 cities, throughout our marriage… It was a huge dream to be able to have a place we would finally settle. I truly believed we would not be moving again. This would be it. Our forever house. The grandkid house.
We have absolutely loved living in this home we intentionally thought out. Not just because of the house itself… which is a total dream, but because of how God has allowed us to use our home for hundreds of people and purposes beyond our own family.
I thought this would be it, no more moves, no more uprooting. The grandkid house. Our forever house.
But God… usually has a different way. And a different path. With a destination that is not completely clear to our own eyes. A better one. But one that requires trust. One that solidifies our faith which furthers our impact for Him. And one that leaves us with a fresh glimpse of our God who is always working… Even when we can’t see Him.
So…
In August we put our house on the market. If you have… Been there. Done that. Then you know!
In January, we bought a house. WITHOUT any offers on the house we’d been trying to sell. I do not recommend this way. We took a massive leap of faith here! It was uncertain and scary. But, it forced us to trust God in the next step…
In February, we finally sold our current house! Taking the ONLY offer we had received since we began (in August). Sometimes being backed into a corner is sovereign. Praise God, for He knew full well what pandemic lay lurking right around the corner.
In March, we drew up plans and ideas for remodeling the home we had just purchased.
In April, like all of humanity, we stayed home, waiting. Praising God that we did not have to move out of our current home until September. Occasionally visiting our future new address, and visualizing what it might become.
Then…
In May, we (meaning the professionals) finally started demo on our remodel!
In June, we began operation “prepare to transition”. Purge, sell, donate, offer up and continue to simplify. Search for a rental that will house 7 people and 5 pets until our remodel is complete… piece of cake, right? Wait, aren’t we in simplify mode??? (Some faint memory of my husband saying, “you have to spend money to save money, it will be worth it in the end” plays in my head.) Fine, whatever. Carry on. We move grandma from our current home to her own place (praise God for strong sons and nephews)! For some reason we felt June would be a good time to check off some urgent boxes required in sending our high school grad to college, like having his wisdom teeth removed…The very day after I have surgery for kidney stones. Sometimes our bodily organs make the rules. We are not in control people.
By God’s grace, we had the opportunity to pause our June madness, spend a week in Florida with friends and family, that was planned almost a year earlier, and take a moment to refresh our souls and our attitudes.
We returned praising God afresh for His goodness in guiding us through an enormous unknown, and forgiving us for when we were ugly about it. Again, asking Him for His grace in showing us what it looks like to leverage what we have for greater purpose… and then faith to act accordingly. And some serious patience to extend to one another along the way.
Now…
So, here we are in July. With a house nearly cleaned out of it’s excessive accumulation, a grad with less teeth in his head, kidney stones birthed, attitudes readjusted and a rental home secured! All the praises! Truly.
Thus, it is highly likely, on occasion, that you will see a glimpse of home reno stuff and moving a pack of people stuff, here in my little space! Along with things I’m learning in the middle of it all (Beyond choosing the right tile).
So much of my faith has grown deep roots in the middle of change and unknown. This is God’s way with me… teaching in the transition. My adult self has grown up amidst many unclear horizons and major transitions. It has been part of my story. Anything I thought might bring stability, I would grasp tightly to (including a “forever” home). The Lord knew it would be best for many of those things to slip through my fingers. And they did. God is good like that. Therefore, learning to let go, again and again, has been a significant tool in shaping my heart for what really matters most… Which are not things at all. And a lesson in trusting God no matter how hidden the future might appear.
And he made from one man every nation of mankind to live on all the face of the earth, having determined allotted periods and the boundaries of their dwelling place, 27 that they should seek God, and perhaps feel their way toward him and find him. Yet he is actually not far from each one of us
Acts 17: 26-27
XOXO,
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