family

Moving On

~ mercyfortheday ~ Leave a comment

Well. We’ve done it. We packed up and moved across two state lines. It felt like a hasty decision, but we have also felt the hand of God guiding the entire process. To say it all went smoothly is an understatement. We found a new house quickly and sold a house quickly. And now the settling in and unpacking of many, many boxes begins. Oh. If anyone had told me at the beginning of the year that we would be moving out of a home we loved and journeying over three hundred miles to begin anew, I would have laughed. But the joke is on me. And here I sit in a new house near family members I haven’t lived near for over forty years. It feels good. And it feels right.

I know that soon the empty boxes will outnumber the full ones, but right now the task of emptying them seems daunting. The first priority is to repair any plumbing issues in the house. Homes have a way of aging, just as people do. And they need regular upkeep and maintenance to run smoothly and efficiently. Oh. We know there will be more repairs down the road. The inspection showed some minor issues that need tackled, so we’ve started our priority list.

Moving on from a beloved home is an adjustment. We loved our home and hadn’t really planned to leave it, but we found over the past year that our life priorities were shifting. We decided to test the waters of relocating, and now we’ve done it. The move has happened. By the end of the week, we’ll close on that beloved home and continue settling into this a-frame we now call home.

After this move and downsizing, I’ve decided that I have no desire to move again. We’ll see if I can hold to that. I sure hope so.

The thing about this change that warms my heart is that the suggestion to move two states away came from my dear husband. He said it was time to take me back to my home state after living away from my family for so many years. I didn’t know that my heart was leading me back to this state where I was born, but the more I thought about it the more excited I became. This man of mine is a gem.

One of the most heartwarming parts of the move thus far was having my family members come to help us unload all the furniture and boxes. Being closer to them is a dream come true. But honestly, I didn’t even know it was a dream until my husband suggested it. And then I realized here is where we belong.

Trust in the Lord with all your heart; do not depend on your own understanding. Proverbs 3:5

Now we begin the task of finding our way in our new life and home. New church. New doctors. New grocery store. New everything. It’s a much smaller town that we’re now in. A cornfield is our backyard. We moved from a city where we regularly saw wildlife along with freeway traffic. Now we’ll slow our pace and forget the headaches of stop and go traffic.

We’ve left longtime friends and church family, but we will always keep them in our hearts. And we’ll find new friends. A new church family. We’ll meet new neighbors. Starting over is daunting, but the excitement of the newness is within. I hope and pray it is an easy transition. We don’t know the road ahead, so we pray for God’s grace and guidance.

Sure. There have been sleepless night with all the planning and hoping and anticipation, so hopefully now peaceful sleep will find me again. But during this entire process, the peace of God has been a settling factor in progressing toward this change. The anxiousness has revolved around selling a house and packing up. Making sure all the moving parts move at the right time and speed. And hoping that nothing gets lost in the transition.

I’m looking forward to growing old(er) in this new phase of life. There will be adjustments, but change doesn’t hurt anyone. It’s just a fact of life, really. Most of us try to avoid change, but it’s good to embrace a good change every now and then. We are resilient people. But most of all, God is good and he’ll provide for every step of the way. I trust his guiding hand, and I know that he will carry us forward as we adjust to our new surroundings.

Thinking of Home

~ mercyfortheday ~ Leave a comment

I think of home this time of year.  The home where I grew up.  The home of my childhood.  Oh.  It’s no longer my home.  I’m rarely in the area, but when I drive by it even looks different.  New owners.  New look.  New traditions.  New memories.  It’s no longer home for me.

But I like to remember when it was.

I remember mornings when our entire family would sit around the breakfast table.  Mother would make homemade hot chocolate and toast for breakfast.  On the rare occasion, we would have donuts from the bakery. Mother would buy glazed donuts.  There were no fancy donuts back then. Glazed are still my favorite.

I remember working in the garden in the summertime.  We would plant long rows of green beans.  Tomatoes.  Corn.  Cucumbers.  Lettuce.  Peppers. It was hard work, but it was worth it.  I say that now.  Back then, I would have given anything to get out of doing all that work.

Honor your father and mother. Then you will live a long, full life in the land the Lord your God is giving you. Exodus 20:12

I remember the summer evenings.  We would sit outside with the radio in the window listening to the St. Louis Cardinals baseball game.  We kids would play softball.  Until the year that our parents planted sweet gum trees in our yard turned softball field.  Now forty some years later, those trees are full grown.  I wonder if they’re still there.

Oh.  I remember the year my dad planted a row of pear trees.  He loved pears and was hoping for a bumper crop.  When the trees eventually produced fruit, someone would always steal them.  But oh.  He loved his pears.

Saturday mornings were spent cleaning the house and baking desserts for Sunday.  That was the girls’ chores.  The boys were out working with the pigs.  Sunday was our day of rest.  Our Sabbath.  Oh.  The boys still fed the pigs.  But we went to church.  Sunday afternoon was nap time for the family.  Odd sounding these days.  But what I wouldn’t give for another Sunday nap. Then back to church for another service.

We always got to choose what kind of birthday cake we wanted. There were no store bought cakes for our family.  My mom made her cakes from scratch.  Carrot cake. Red velvet.  Italian cream.  German chocolate.  Chocolate sheet cake.  Her cakes were out of this world.  What I wouldn’t give for one of them for my birthday this year.  Summer birthdays didn’t require a birthday cake.  Oh.  There was a choice.  My dad and brother always asked for a watermelon instead.  Who knew that birthday candles fit nicely on a watermelon.

The living room was a sacred place come nighttime.  Daddy would call us into the living room, so we could have family devotions.  He would read a Bible story and then we would pray together.  Every night before bed.  I love that memory.

These scenes from my childhood are imprinted on my heart and mind.  For that I am thankful.