Reflections After Moving Weekend

God really blesses his children.

My wife and I are proof of that. We’ve had some very hard days over the last few months. I cherish the time we’ve had with my parents, but living out of a room in the house wherein I was raised had challenges. We never really took ownership of any space outside our bedroom; the bulk of our possessions were in storage, and we were far more fluid with our time and boundaries than we had ever been in the past. The struggles from week to week were social, emotional, and spiritual.

Yet we were blessed even in that time. Regardless of difficulties, I felt our relationship deepen--through hard conversations about real concerns and dynamics. Plus, we were able to save a good deal of money, live close to our respective offices, assist my parents in several ways, and experience a wealth of great memories. Inasmuch as the situation had its hardships, we have had a wonderful time in that old house.

But we are ready for this next step, and the Lord allowed it without incident.  The realtor listed the rental property on April 10, 2014. We saw it two days later on April 12th, and both of us thought it was a great place—a place where we could see ourselves making a home. We completed the rental application that very day, and by Monday, April 14th, the realtor told us that she had already started the credit reporting and that we looked great on paper. We signed the lease the following Saturday, April 19th, and we took the weekend of the 26th to pack. By the 29th we had our keys, and our storage unit was emptied and our rental unit full by 1:30 PM on May 3rd. Less than a month from listing to moving day.

Yes, it was a whirlwind, but it was a whirlwind in which I see the fingerprints of God. You see, we had been saving for a house for the last year, and we were hoping to buy...until the lessons from a financial class offered by our church showed us the danger in buying too soon. Ironically, we were attending that class because I had thought it was a good idea to do learn more about finances together prior to buying a home. Of course, we had no expectation that the church would be hosting it, we just happened to be at the right church at the right time. While that church was not where we want to set our roots, our attendance there regularly provided an opportunity that ultimately led us to choose a different fiscal path and enter our next life stage on new terms. We would never have guessed this would all unfold as it has back when we began attending the church in December 2012, but this is how God can operate.

I look at the events leading to this past Saturday in reverse, and I see dots being connected consistently; what’s more, I see us trying to honor God in our decisions. I see both of us making sacrifices not only for him but each other, week-in and week-out. Now I see a harvest from those choices.

This is just one way God amazes to me—not in his granting us such a wonderful place but in his working together events, his setting things in motion, and his constant encouragement and strength in the interim through the person of the Holy Spirit.

Yes, I am fully aware that this will be a significant change for us.  And the whirlwind will continue. But I have nothing but hope right now. Nothing but hope. And that’s a good place to be on a Monday.

Thanks for reading, all, 
C