Tuesday, December 13, 2011

A new chapter starting soon

We had just made a long trip down to Iowa to visit my family for Thanksgiving, and had arrived back home late Saturday night. It was a slow lazy Sunday afternoon and evening as we tried to recuperate from the trip, and the hustle and bustle of church activities Sunday morning.

Then the phone rang. My husband Jeff had received a divine call to Peace Lutheran Church, Jefferson City, Missouri. Whoa. Dude. We weren't expecting that.

To make a long story short, Jeff accepted the call and we will be moving. Again. You'd think I'd be better at packing by now, after moving so many times. But it hasn't gotten any easier.

We still have a few details to figure out yet. Well, a lot of details. Like where we're going to live, because there's no parsonage. Like what to do with Albert. And the chickens. And turkeys. We have our house here taken care of, though. (We had it sold in less than a week on a contract-for-deed. Praise the Lord!)

Words cannot express the mix of emotions I've been going through these past several weeks. I can't even put into words... well... much of anything, these days. Overwhelmed. Because, truthfully, this was an answer to prayer. I wasn't sure what exactly I was praying for, but this was the answer.

And so here we are. Packing. Minimizing our possessions. Uprooting.

Ahh... uprooting. I'm one that likes to... settle down. Put down roots. Take off my coat and stay awhile, as the saying goes. And Judah is like me, I think. He's old enough to realize that things are changing, and he wants things to stay the same. He's having a hard time, poor guy. Needs some extra love. But I pray for resiliency for him... they say that young kids are resilient and adaptable. Whoever "they" are.

Here are some pictures, which don't have anything to do specifically with the move. Just some kid pictures. ;-)
Enoch, 2 1/2 wks
My three boys
Daddy and the boys having a 6-wheeler ride in the snow (gift from Gpa Allan!)

I haven't even gotten to show you the neat old old house next to our property up here. Here it is:

And so, with excitement, with some uncertainty about what lies ahead, we sojourn on. The hymn "Heaven is my home" often plays in my head as I think about all our moving around. It all points me to my eternal home in heaven that awaits me someday through faith in Jesus Christ as my Savior. This here, this is just temporary. Heaven is the real final destination. "I'm but a stranger here, heaven is my home."

Please keep us in your prayers as we move toward the next chapter in our lives. Missouri, here we come!