You might have noticed I haven’t blogged in a long time… about 2 months to be exact. No excuses, BUT life has been really crazy for the last 4 months.
A brief snapshot:
In April we found out we were moving from Minnesota to New Mexico. Immediately after Spring Break, we began to get the house ready to sell.
In May, we put our house on the market (and sold it!), made trip a to NM to find a house, had an 11th birthday and a First Communion.
In June, all 3 kids finished school, my 15 y/o son and I went to Haiti on an amazing mission trip, (returned 6 days before the moving truck showed up) we moved out of our house in Eden Prairie and said goodbye to church, neighbors, friends and family.
In July, we spent time at our lake home in Northern MN, hosting over 40 people at various times, sent kids on mission trips and to camp, traveled to NM to enroll in school and meet the moving truck, traveled to WI to spend precious time with family in the last days of a dying relative, and took a family vacation with extended family in Rosemary Beach, Florida.
In August, we ended our vacation, sent my family by car to NM while I flew to WI for a funeral and to prepare an eulogy, started a new life in a new state, and 3 kids in a new school and sports…and oh yeah, started to unpack an entire house full of boxes.
Now that I’ve written that, I realize why my mind hasn’t been on writing. We’ve just had lots on our plate…and still do. So today, I’ll begin with just two reflections (in hopes that I stumble out of the fog and get to writing more often.)
1. We never could have gotten through the insanity that has been our lives for the last 4 months without a lot of praying friends lifting us up. WE HAVE FELT THE PRAYERS so powerfully. The phone calls, texts, cards, voice mails and gifts have each been a source of encouragement. There is no words to thank people, but we feel God through you.
On him we have set our hope that he will continue to deliver us, as you help us by your prayers. Then many will give thanks on our behalf for the gracious favor granted us in answer to the prayers of many.” 2 Corinthians 1:10b-11
2. Grief is a powerful thing. I am not only grieving my old house, my old church, my dearest friends, my life for 13 years, moving from family, but also an amazing man who was my brother-in-law for 33 years. As Ecclesiastes says,
There is a time for everything,
and a season for every activity under heaven:
a time to be born and a time to die,
a time to plant and a time to uproot…
a time to tear down and a time to build,
a time to weep and a time to laugh,
a time to mourn and a time to dance,
a time to scatter stones and a time to gather them,
a time to embrace and a time to refrain,
a time to search and a time to give up,
a time to keep and a time to throw away,
a time to tear and a time to mend,
a time to be silent and a time to speak…” Ecclesiastes 3:1-2, 4-7
These last months, I think our family has walked through lots of these “times” and I think we are better for it even if it’s really hard. The encouragement I get from scripture is that it’s normal, expected and we aren’t the first to go through any of these things.
And, I’m glad to know that there is a time to be silent (the last 2 months) and a time to speak! Sometimes what you’re going through can’t be perfectly encapsulated into 300-500 words and present a meaningful lesson to the world. So thanks for your patience. I hope you’ll keep coming back to the blog.
What “time” are you in right now? And what is God doing in your life because of it?
I’d love to hear your comments!