In All These Things

Yesterday our dear little home was listed for sale. After a marathon of touch-ups and carpet cleaning and closet organizing and stuff purging ... we pounded a sign into the front lawn declaring that our home of 8.5 years was ready for a new family. In exactly 2 months we will be leaving for France. It is time to let go to move forward.

 

I have complete peace that this is what we are to do to pursue the next adventure God has lined up. But it is not without some melancholy. Everywhere I look I see memories. The staircase that Pops rebuilt and the children have trotted down every morning.

 I recognize the spot next to the sofa on the left where Jane took her first steps on Christmas Eve.

 The family room where we have spent time near every day reading books, watching movies, celebrating birthdays, entertaining our loved ones.

Dining tables and kitchens where we have spent countless hours sharing and preparing, working.

The front drive where we return home each day and pose for first day photos or happy moments with those we love.

 The playhouse that was a source of imaginary adventures and multiple reorganizations. And the trampoline that has yielded a sprained ankle and broken arm ... and is still a favorite family activity.

The yard that hosted birthday party after birthday party, Mother's Day photos, and many happy returns.

This whole process, thus far, has been utterly and completely overwhelming. It has made me question and evaluate and prioritize what I value, what I am being led to, and where my things and my home fit into all of that. Prior to l'aventure I would have told you that I would quite possibly still be in this home until I had grandchildren to introduce to it. I have been more than content here. I value home and creating a precious little haven for my family.

But here we are. Prudent Anna, who has been learning to try ... and try again ... is walking forward into the stirring that God placed in my heart, near 20 years ago.

And in all of this upheaval I have peace to move forward. The list of stressors in our life right now is so laughably long, that I am simply forced to turn them over to the Lord and trust in His timing and covering. Need to sell house, pack for storage, and prepare to move around the world in less than two months? Prepare and encourage the children who are leaving behind their own comfort zone in exchange for a radically new environment? Pay for recent and hefty health bills? Brace for living in a new culture with a completely new language that will effect most every area of our daily interactions? (How do we buy a car, open a bank account, enroll the children in school, find a doctor, pay the utility bill ...?) Leave behind our dear ones with just our love and the promise to return?

In all these things ... I am learning to take it day by day. Learning how to be diligent in challenges and view them as just another opportunity to trust God and see how He provides ... This is good.