We have a lot going on right now.
I shared a bit of this on social media over the weekend and most of the responses I got were different forms of the message, “HOW STRESSFUL!!”
I agree. This could be very stressful and at times, it is. I think taking the posture of “being stressed” is the easiest route because when I look at the situation, I want to tell myself that anyone else in this situation would be stressed; so it’s okay to feel that way.
But I don’t want to take that posture and I am choosing to try and take a different one altogether (with the Lord’s help) to not only be an example to my son, but to help my own body and mind deal with our day-to-day life and the knowledge of the work to come:
-We need to quickly sell or rent our house in California (from 3000 miles away)
-We need to find a new place to rent
-We need to pack up our current home and move by May 1st
Yikes!
I recently read a section in the book The Lifegiving Table that has had me mulling over the idea of thankfulness as an active position of faith when looking to the future:
“Thanksgiving is intimately tied to remembering. If you can’t remember what someone has done for you, how can you be thankful? The Bible uses various forms of the word remember more than 170 times, and very often the idea of remembering is tied to thanking God. The Psalms in particular make this frequent connection. Over and over the psalmist encourages the Israelites to remember God’s covenant to them and to remember what He has done for them, so that they might know His faithfulness and in turn live faithfully according to His covenant. Take, for instance, Psalm 66. The Psalmist calls the people to ‘shout joyful praises to God,’ then engages in a jubilant recollection of what God has done for the house of Israel—delivering them from Egypt through the Red Sea, testing and purifying them, giving them leaders, bringing them ‘through fire and flood’ to ‘a place of great abundance.’ Why all the reminders? Because, quite simply, people forget. And when they forget or don’t notice, they tend to whine or complain.”
With this in mind, I started remembering this past year. We went into a cross-country move with so much expectancy, but we had no idea what to expect.
And how has it been?
In truth, I started crying yesterday while thanking the Lord for all that He has provided for us this past year; it has been better than I could have hoped.
Part of me wants to be selfish and wish that we could stay in the house we are renting now, but when I start to thank the Lord for the fact that we even got to live in this house in the first place, my mindset changes. Waking up to such a beautiful view of nature every morning opened my heart to really enjoy living here. I didn’t hold back, I just soaked it all in and allowed myself to feel the joy of living in the present and finding the sweet things that life offers every day.
Mason jokes that the Lord knew I would need a really nice view to lure me away from California… and maybe he was right. It worked haha!
When I think back over the last 8 years that Mason and I have been married, I see the Lord working in our lives; His hand guiding and providing for us every step of the way. I know this new chapter of our story wont be any different. Remembering His faithfulness in the past strengthens MY faith when I am looking to the future and when I pray for His provision, I also pray that He would allow me to see it. I know He is providing for us, I just don’t always have the eyes to see it right away, (or I am looking in a completely different direction and miss it for awhile.)
I encourage you to spend some time remembering today, remembering His faithfulness as you look to your future. And if you would, please pray for Mason and I during this time of transition.
Coast x Coast Motherhood 