ready to move

(post written as an update to THIS post)

Chris had started trimming the beautiful old maple tree that lives at the front of our house when the kids suddenly got pretty wild. The tree was abandoned, so late, after they went to bed, he went back outside to finish up the project he had started.

I was folding laundry and changing the sheets on our bed with the window wide open letting the cool summer air in. Our window faces the front of the house and I could hear the clippers snipping away at the branches as he worked.

Pretty soon a neighbor joined him, and I could hear them chatting about guitars and watching our dog while we are on vacation and such neighborly things. It was sweet and made me smile. And then I heard another one of our neighbors come by and Chris greeted him in his usual manor with a big "hello sir." I knew exactly who it was without even looking. They chatted about the upcoming community garage sale and the BBQ afterward.

But it made my heart sad a little bit.

We have been going through the painful process of selling our home for the past five months we have a buyer and everything but the situation we are in has made the process slow and confusing and really super up in the air. We found out this morning that we have to be out in the next thirty days.

I remember only three summers ago when we got the keys to this house. I remember how excited we were and how we spent the first evening pulling down wallpaper and showing family around. The boys were both under two. We ripped out the kitchen and lived without a sink or appliances for months.

Two babies, my best friend was here, the summer was hot and I felt God's goodness and blessing pouring out onto our family with each helping hand that would come over, each gallon of paint we were able to purchase. It was an adventure.

I remember the night Chris put up the Orla Kiely wallpaper and I teased him about how I loved it but knew that a day would come when I would make him remove it because inspiration would strike and I would need something new. I promised him it would be at least five years though. Chris' brother and his wife bought us new appliances and I cried huge tears of joy that our family would have such a beautiful home after struggling hard crammed into 770 square feet. We dreamed about more kids and Thanksgivings and one day putting in a big garden.

My heart hurts.

But God laid something on my heart tonight, as I took some more dirty clothes down to the basement to load the washer again. He whispered.

Are you ready to move?

And for some reason it didn't hit me in the we are moving to a new house kind of way. This time it hit me in the - ARE YOU READY TO MOVE - like be on the lookout, I am moving and I want you to be a part of that story - kind of way.

Isn't it so true how we will receive a blessing from God and then get so super comfortable and cozy our little open hands suddenly clasp tight around that gift. I love the blessing of this house. I am not ready to release it. But I hear God softly calling us forward into the great unknown asking me to trust Him with our future and gently reminding me to be ready.

I want to be ready when He says move. I want to be able to hear Him and not the stuff around me that I think I need to hold onto.

So we are about to take the next step of figuring out where to move our family of five. There is pain and mourning as my heart begins to unravel itself from what I thought would be our home for a long, long time. I know God will be faithful. He always is. He has given Chris a new job, which requires a new direction, and so I am preparing myself to be ready to move as He calls.