Rest, Faith and Patience

We're all a little pooped these days

Rest, faith and patience; these have been my Rx for the last six months and I can tell it ain't gonna change anytime soon.  Lately, we've been pretty busy, which is understandable when you think you only have two weeks to pack, organize and say goodbye to everyone in your life before moving to a different country.

Well, given all that, God has still had some pretty intense plans for us.  John received his contract two weeks ago and the following eleven days were filled, quite literally--morning, noon and night--with errands, play dates, farewells and orchestrating details for a move that was rapidly approaching. I have felt overwhelmingly thankful that we have had so much time these past months to prepare our household items and general affairs, because I was completely unprepared for the outpouring of love and invitations from friends to get together once we were certain our move was approaching. 

Breakfast with Jackie!!

Now, I think its important to understand that John and I consider ourselves borderline hermits; we think it's a pretty far departure from our comfortable introverted existence to commit to meeting with our small group on a weekly basis, much less spend every night out of the house for well over a week. 

Reagan and Audrey...two peas in a pod

 

I spent a lot of that time reflecting on what exactly it means to be an introvert suddenly left adrift without time to recharge my batteries in solitude, as is my standard practice. Every dinner, every play date, every cup of coffee with a friend was precious to me, but what's a loner to do? Well, I started with prayer...because I knew that a nap wasn't remotely possible, and God did something really cool.  For this introvert, He showed me how to actively rest--how to live in the moment and draw energy from the joy in a meeting of friends. Although I'm still physically exhausted, I have been able to really enjoy the time I've had with friends and family, which has been an unspeakable blessing. 

In other news, Kathryn and Jeff have recently moved into their new home in the Tri-Cities; we were fortunate enough to have them and the D-Man staying in our house for a little over a week while they were closing and settling details with their new place. And no sooner had the moving van pulled out of their driveway than the invasion occurred; there has been a pretty steady stream of family in and out of that house ever since--I'm sure they can relate to the need for solitude and rest. 

This picture has been two years in the making

The culmination of all this socialization was supposed to be our last big shindig at a local pizza joint last night. Friends, family and coworkers came out in great numbers to wish us well--all that love was overwhelming, but we were so happy to see each and every person who made it out. I know that's the standard happy speech after one of these things (usually spoken through a plastered-on smile) but those cheesy words are truth; it was something special. 

Those who were able to join us know that the past twenty four hours have been pretty intense; we've been busting though the paperwork and checklist of items to expedite our move, yet still had not received our itinerary for our requested travel dates. Normal bureaucratic policy, plus the time lapse between emails and a lag in communication or two had suddenly landed us back in limbo; with the holiday weekend looming (Easter is a four day weekend in Austria) we had exactly one day left to see if we would be leaving the country within the next 48 hours. 'Intense' doesn't even begin to express the crazy range of emotions I went through yesterday. I spent a lot of time talking to God and getting my heart right with His plans, whatever they might be. 

Luckily, Gary is on spring break and he volunteered yesterday to take the girls to Kathryn and Jeff's house so I could have time to pack and get my ducks in a row. I spent the morning packing everything possible and dragging luggage back and forth between the bedroom and the scale in the bathroom; I may be a master packer, (thanks for those genes, Mom) but these 50lb. limits on luggage are killing me...and my back. So, John, wonderful man that he is, booked a massage and chiropractic treatment for me. It was much needed and appreciated. When I finally went over to the Payne residence that afternoon to see my children, they could've cared less that I had been missing for most of the day--they had a host of cousins running amok, playing in moving boxes with them. Just call me chopped liver. 

Kennedy loves John...I think the feeling is mutual.

After our pizza party extravaganza and wrestling our sleepy kiddos into bed, John and I collapsed in exhaustion and then woke up at 1am to see if our travel plans were solidified yet. As fate would have it, there was no HR miracle capable of pulling off our trip that quickly and we are now committed to a travel date of Wednesday the 11th. Not that we will have details or plane tickets until the day before, but we're starting to realize that God doesn't want us getting comfortable with this...and if that's His plan, then it's perfect and we're cool with it. 

 In the mean time, we're so prepared we now feel like we've got a mini vacation on our hands; John isn't working and our schedule (although it is rapidly filling) is obviously much more free than it was a week ago.  We're hoping to find some more traditional rest in the days leading up to our move and I now have a deep, resounding peace that we are on the right path.  God is good, folks. This life is crazy, but He is constant.