A New Season:10 Days {Part 3}

Having to move in a 10 day period is insane.

However, I wouldn't have done it any other way.

The best part: We were forced to quickly get rid of a lot of our belongings, which felt soooo good. I didn't have much time to think or become sentimental about things. We had to fit everything in the moving truck, and I'm pretty sure that if we had not given away or pitched a lot of our things, that would not have happened. Moving quickly didn't give me much time to think about anything, which I'm sure was a good thing.

The hardest part: We were not able to say good-bye to a lot of people. It was difficult to find time to do any kind of good-bye dinners or "one last" meet ups with a lot of people, and that part kind of kills me. I knew that leaving people was going to be the hardest part of the move. I worked up until one day before moving day, as did Tim. We were either working, furiously trying to find a place to live, cleaning the duplex, tying up loose ends or packing. Insane.

Throughout those 10 days, I'm sure I had some moments of panic (things are a blur now). However, I was able to stay calm, cool, and collective most of the time. I felt a weird peace in the midst of the chaos. God's grace at work again. God provided in so many ways during this time to sustain us through the crazy. We had help from friends. One of my biggest issues was food. I did not have time to cook meals, plus I had to pack up most of the kitchen. I was worried about how that was going to go at first, but I finally started to just present that as a need to friends/neighbors, and you know what? They delivered. Sometimes it's hard for me to ask for help, but I'm learning that it's OK to ask for help and that people are more than willing to help. We could not have made it those 10 days without our friends and family. My family in Lincoln helped us so much with trying to find a place for us to move into immediately when we arrived. I wasn't sure if it would happen, but, we were able to secure a nice duplex just a few days before we moved. It was a huge answer to prayer, and we are thankful that God held that place for us. He truly does provide.

The night before we left was crazy. My anxiety level was super high. I am thankful for good friends that came to help finish cleaning our place and help with doing minor cosmetic fixes. I probably would've had a major meltdown without them there. Since our bedroom was packed up, we had to sleep on a air mattress. I'm convinced that queen air mattresses are pointless, unless there is just one person sleeping on it. I could not sleep for anything, which gave me more anxiety because I had to drive 10 hours the next day with 3 cats in the car, which at that point, I was worried about how that was going to go. Lots of anxiety. I was so thankful that my sister, Beth, was going to be riding up with me so she could keep me awake!

August 2. Last morning in TX. We scrambled to get the remaining items packed up in our cars and the moving truck. My neighbor prayed over us and then we said our good-byes. We were off! The only issue we had on the road was when we first got on the highway. My vehicle was hitched to the back of the moving truck, and Tim forgot to take the emergency brake off. So, I was driving his car behind the truck and noticed that there was smoke coming from my car!! I was like...oh crap. I quickly called Tim and told him to pull over. He took the brake off, and that solved the issue. I almost got hit by a semi trying to get back on the highway, but after that, everything went smoothly! I was so worried about how the cats were going to do, and I prayed a lot about it. They did GREAT! They pretty much slept the entire 10 hours. It was glorious.

Once we crossed the Red River from Texas over to Oklahoma, I felt a huge weight lift off of my shoulders. I could breathe again. It was happening. All that we prayed for over the years was really coming to fruition. I'm thankful that Beth was with me, not only for great conversation and sister time, but she was able to drive us from Oklahoma City to Lincoln. I was so tired from the craziness of the previous 10 days, but also from not having slept much the night before. I'm not sure how I would've pulled it off without her there.

We pulled up to our new duplex around 7:45. We were greeted by my sister, Holly and my parents who gifted us with a new welcome mat and a little welcome flag for our yard. They're sweet like that. I loved our duplex from the moment we pulled up. We had to quickly run to the property management office to sign papers and get our keys. We got back to the duplex, walked in, and loved it. I couldn't believe how much room we had. Truly a blessing.

We spent that weekend moving in and trying to get as settled as possible before Tim started his new job that Monday. I woke up early on Saturday morning before we started moving everything in and sat in front of the picture window in the living room and looked at the beauty outside. I sat there thinking - We didn't deserve any of this. But God, in His kindness, delivered us out of a difficult season, and brought us into a fresh new one. I know there will be difficulties in this new season (there already have been), and that is just a part of life on this earth. I'm excited about what God has in store for us here. I look forward to forming new relationships and I pray for a growing desire and heart for the people in Lincoln.