Today is the Day...

Today is the day to be a blessing to my family, to establish our long-awaited home, to enjoy the company of the man I love the most on this earth, and to praise My Abba, Father for His faithfulness!

Indeed, it has been a little over thirteen months since we left our home of twenty years for a wild adventure in the south.  We sustained our life, learned many lessons--some were harder than others, and learned much about ourselves as a family.  It is time; time to open another chapter in our family's life. 

We will be preparing our new house for the next couple of days, and moving all our belongings in to it this week end.  Excited could be a word to describe how I feel...but it would be an understatement.  I also feel eager; eager to make a connection with a church body in our new town, eager to make new acquaintances--and watch as our girls make new friends, eager to begin working out again/being able to make better food choices and eager to have a real routine that involves the four of us. I haven't been able to say that for about 16-1/2 years!

During the past thirteen months, there have been things in my life that I have been able to eliminate--and there have been sweet things that I have been able to add.  (example:  eliminated clutter--added regular physical exercise)

One of the things I found refreshing in the south is the use of the words "Miss" or "Mr" before a person's name.  I was "Miss Marsha" more than just "Marsha" to people I met or encountered--and loved that very much.  The use of  "yes, ma'am" and  "no, ma'am" was also refreshing--these are terms that signify respect--a quality that is not demonstrated much in our hurried culture. 

Time, I learned in the south, is also a relevant term.  I was used to everything happening at a certain time.  If I said I would be there at ten in the morning, then by 9:50, at the latest, I was there, or I would be calling to explain my delay.  Where we lived, we quickly realized that if we were told ten am...that could mean anything from ten am to eleven-thirty am.  Amazing...but no one got too shook up about it.  (Of course, professional appointments would be excluded from this scenario, but it was, indeed, a different life than we were used to.) 

I suppose that is why I am writing this morning, instead of cleaning.  I learned to s-t-r-e-t-c-h in ways I had not encountered, or been required to stretch before.  This claim works, whether I am talking about expectations I placed on others, or I am talking about trusting God for my next breath!  It has been a l-o-n-g thirteen months that included some of the most difficult moments I have ever encountered in my life.  However, because of the things I have learned, I would not trade one second of it for anything--anything!  For in the most difficult moments, I have seen God work in ways that I could never have imagined!  I love that about Him...and for that I am truly Thankful!

You may not hear from me for a few days, as I will be living life (translate:moving!), instead of writing about it...but stay tuned!  The next chapter is just beginning--and,as always,  I can't wait to see what God has planned for this family!