All that to say, despite the big beautiful house, there were
other things about our Orange County experience that were challenging. We struggled to find a community. The church where we finally landed was
wonderful but still felt foreign in many ways.
Our older kids felt like strangers in this new house that didn’t have
all the memories and friends they had grown up with. We were financially strapped and constantly
worrying about money.
We took a deep breath and a step back and told God, “ok”. We sold our big house, a TON of furniture and
stuff that would never fit in our new little bungalow and moved back to Chula
Vista, the place our family calls home.
It turns out that God can see a bigger picture than we ever
can. Imagine that!
A few months after downsizing, Larry was laid off from his
executive position and we were left without an income. We NEVER would have survived if we had been
in our big, lovely Orange County house with its ginormous mortgage and no
support system around us. God knew what He
was doing apparently.
We have definitely struggled through the last 18 months that
we’ve been back. Months of no
income. An old house that is constantly
in need of repair. Something breaking
down almost every day. But, in the midst
of all the uncertainty, we have found little hidden treasures.
- Our children are so at home here and they are thriving. THIS is home.
- We found a local church that is in the business of being the hands and feet of Jesus to its community and investing in healing and redemption.
- We discovered new facets to our dreams and vision for our future.
- We were near again (in proximity) to extended family and old friends.
- We’ve had opportunities to use our gifts in new and exciting ways.
- Our backyard is home to many birds and butterflies
- We started our own consulting company… together!
So, while there are days when I think if one more thing in
our house breaks down I will scream or I long for the day when I have a master
bathroom sink that works, I KNOW this is where God has placed us.
Last night when our son yanked us from our slumber because a
pipe under our kitchen sink was spewing hot water all over the kitchen, I
thought I was going to lose it. This
morning I awakened with a cloud of discouragement cloaking all the goodness of
God. And then I felt his prompting to
write. I headed to The Nest (our office
space in the back yard) armed with my bulletproof coffee and began this post. And once again I see that God knows what He
is doing. He has guided me, through this
“exercise”, to change my perspective. At
least for the moment. I know that I am
prone to wander.
But I’m thankful in
this moment. And this is what I need to
be.
I’ll transform her dead ground into Eden, her moonscape into the garden of God, A place filled with exuberance and laughter, thankful voices and melodic songs. -Isaiah 51:3 (The Message)What are you thankful for today?
