Things were moving and moving at a faster rate than I had anticipated them to move. We had just spent our last Christmas in our home. We also, rang in the last New Year in this house in which we made a home over the last twelve years.
This House
Isaac wasn’t quite walking when we bought this house. The house had great bones and an empty palette to work with. Literally, every room was painted white. The owners before us took very good care of the home so we were in luck there. I love doing “stuff” around the house. Updates, improvements, you name it, I want to do it. So this house quickly had a list of “to dos” for me (actually for Travis) : )
Over the course of the twelve years, we basically flipped this house. All new flooring, bathrooms, light fixtures, room additions, pool with a deck, and more. It was a complete renovation as time went by. It was everything I wanted in a house. I had never had much pride in things of this world but this house, was my pride and joy. I LOVED my home.
Moving
We knew God called us to foster care. So with that, to make it functional, we needed a different home. Sure, we could have made it work there (we actually had a foster child there) but long term, we were wanting something else.
It was early January, freezing cold, and we were in the middle of a snow storm. Nevertheless, we were moving. Travis and I aren’t the kind to ask for a lot of help. So the four of us packed up, and moved twelve years of memories into a storage unit sitting in our driveway. It, consequently, didn’t hold everything. So, in addition to the storage unit, we also took truck loads to my mom’s garage. At one point, Travis’s truck got stuck in the snow (sideways), on my mom’s driveway, which is on the side of a hill, with a trailer attached to it. It was nothing but ice. It was freezing. It was scary. It was not the best of times, pretty much a nightmare.
Another curveball to the story is the fact that we were going to be homeless (literally) for about a month. All of our belongings were headed to storage. We would move in with my uncle for a month (bless his heart). Each dog would be at a different family member’s house. It wasn’t the best case scenario but it was the best scenario we had to chose from.
The Harsh Reality
We are really nice people, maybe too nice. As you read this, you will probably think we are really stupid people. Anyways, we told the buyers they could have possession of our house prior to closing. We knew regardless, we were going to be homeless living with my uncle so we thought, “What is a couple more days?”
So picture this, they were moving in our house while we still had a few things left in the house. It was craziness. We came to our home for the last time to clean out the refrigerator. The new buyers were not there, thankfully, because I was an emotional wreck.
As I walked in MY house, I see unfamiliar items. I had just walked into someone else’s life in my home. A stranger’s family heirlooms, furniture, kitchen appliances, all sitting in my home. The home both of my kids learned to walk in. It was devastating. I lost it right there in the middle of that kitchen.
As we gathered up the remaining items and left our home for the final time, sadness for sure was there but a sense of hope broke through. I had hope in what God had in store for us. I learned a lot in leaving our home that day.
The Lesson I Learned
My joy was determined by that house. I was fixated on how it looked all the time. I wanted it clean. I wanted it tidy. I was not happy if it was anything less than. Leaving that home, living with family for a month, and moving into a new home taught me that home is not a structure, home is your family.
Matthew 6:19-20 “Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal, but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth or rust destroys and where thieves do not break and steal.”
I learned to not take so much pride in my earthly possessions. Don’t get me wrong, I love my new home but I am in no way as fixated on how it looks as I was the latter. I’ve let a lot go and as a result, I have found a joy in who I am through Christ. My joy is no longer determined by where I live.
Love you friends
