From There to Here
We are passed the three week mark in our new home and state. After living in Jacksonville, FL for eight years it took a monumental effort to make this change. Not only were we having to pack up an accumulation of material possessions, we also had to relocate eleven people (nine of them being young children), eight cats, two zebra finches, one Guinea pig and a golden retriever. Oh! And my favorite plants! I had about a dozen of those, including Mr. Tumnus, my fiddle leaf fig tree.
The first week found us in a daze after six months of preparing and then doing the final packing up of the UHaul and then making the two-day trip up here. We kind of felt like we were on a summer vacation with all the newness and splurging on some eating out and indulging on sleeping in now that we were reunited with our beds.
But as we approach one month away from home and find our days filled with unpacking boxes, I’ve noticed that we are facing the reality of the change we have made. It’s been nearly a month since we have laughed with our best friends, gotten our weekly hugs and conversations from our circle, walked our familiar sidewalks. As I comment on what I like about our new home, I immediately think about what I’m missing:
I miss my bottle brush tree and the hummingbirds that visited but I am so happy with the gardenia bush that hosts a cardinal family.
I miss the sunrise over our lake but I am delighted to have lilies and hydrangeas surrounding our new house.
I miss my brick home but oh! The natural light that fills our new house is life-giving.
I miss living in a house with memories but I’m thankful for more space to spread out and make new memories.
If it was up to me, I would not have had the courage to take on this endeavor. But in this process of letting go and starting over I’m discovering the faithfulness of God. His graciousness and His mercy, the constancy of His character, and the power of His presence go with me wherever I am. If my little birds can sing in the sunlight of their new home and Mr. Tumnus can soak in the Virginia rain and deepen the green of his leaves, then I can certainly find the balance of simultaneously loving what I left and embracing where I am:
In my next post, I will share some specific details about how we pulled off a two-day road trip with our caravan.