The family moves across country…. again!
Hahaha…. Yep, here we go again! It has been quite a whirlwind for sure.
Have you ever felt comfortable, but at the same time know that you are maybe being called for something else or somewhere else? It’s so hard to leave the comfort! So hard!
My husband has had Arizona on his heart for a while now.
But we lived by near parents and (most of) my family in Massachusetts, we had such a supportive church, we finally had people set up to help with our special needs son, Liam. We finally had found a school that worked for Liam (mostly anyway). I had a little job that I loved. We were comfortable, or I was anyway.
But we had this feeling deep down for a long time that we were supposed to eventually move to Arizona. My sister (who’s also my best friend) and her family live out here in this beautiful mountain desert. I remember I once told her, “If you need me, I’ll move there.” She immediately replied, “I need you” LOL. It took me a while to hold true to my promise I guess. I kept putting it off because timing just wasn’t right. And I didn’t want to move until we were so SO sure that God wanted us to go.
God had placed us in Massachusetts a few years ago, and although it wasn’t all easy, it was the biggest blessing to us. We were able to find the kids’ diagnoses of Sanfilippo Syndrome, and receive great care for them at Boston Children’s Hospital. We had my family there and our “home” church (the church we grew up in, and my Dad is the pastor of) to support us through the most difficult time in our life.
So, I spent so much time in prayer begging God for an answer about whether to move from MA or not, or when the right timing was. I’d love to say, “I heard God’s voice say: Move to Arizona, now is the time!” LOL But it wasn’t like that, and I feel like most of the time, it’s not quite like that.
Surprisingly, I heard (felt) Him say… to listen to my husband and really hear his point of view. Haha, simple as that. I do love and respect my husband so much, but I so badly wanted to make sure that my husband was right about this. But after that, I finally felt peace about moving; knowing that God was with us, paving a way for us, and knowing that I left it all up to God, and that’s all I can do.
Sometimes it’s just about having your heart in the right place. There are so many times when there is no black and white answer; there’s no right or wrong, just a bunch of gray. So taking baby steps of obedience to God is all we can do.
I came to the conclusion that: we will never see what God wants to do out in the “unknown”, if we never take that step out there.
So now it was just taking that huge leap of faith, trusting God when it’s hard to trust. The unknown can give me anxiety, and I have to keep going back to trusting God. Why is this so hard for me? It’s sometimes like I totally forget that God has taken care of us literally every step of the way, no matter how rocky. He’s not going to just stop.
We packed up, said a teary good-bye to my family in Massachusetts, and left in the 26’ massive Uhaul towing our Volvo, and me driving our family car with all the kids.
Let me just tell you this: I am SO happy to have the moving and the road trip behind us!! (But God actually gave us a very safe and non-eventful trip, and I am so grateful for that!)
We were able to find a short term rental here in Arizona, which was a miracle in itself because rentals are so hard to get now. We will live here while we get all set up to buy a house (possibly and hopefully this rental house, actually). I know, I know, this is like the best time in history to buy a house, right?! Ugh, so NOT. House prices here (and everywhere) have absolutely sky-rocketed! So, again, another thing to keep reminding myself to not be anxious about, but to TRUST God.
My sister put this on our new front door as a welcome, so sweet!!
But we can say, being here does feel right. We may not know exactly what our future looks like here, but it feels RIGHT. God continues to stretch us, and we will continue to grow and learn.
Super fun side note: One thing we learned so far is what a Bark Scorpion sting feels like and what to do when stung! And FYI: According to my husband, it feels like getting shot in the foot with a Glock (he stepped on it) and then having that pain go up your whole body, and then going numb and having muscle spasms/cramping, and blurry vision. No hospital trip, but did have the paramedics come and check on him. It lasted about 24 hours and then he felt ok. It was a fun Wecome to Arizona! Before you feel too bad for him though, I’m pretty sure he thinks it’s cool.
So our adventures continue!
Tucker (our 9 yr old) is really excited to start school again after a year of being homeschooled. (We had a good run homeschooling, and it was good for the one year we did. But for us, we’re glad that he can go back to a school with other kids to socialize with). He is excited to find a church (as we all are!) and meet some new friends there as well.
in Texas on our trip out here
We are in the process of choosing between a couple good schools for Liam and trying to get him all set up for this upcoming school year (it’s a lengthy process, and he will most likely need to try public first; just the way the system works) In the mean time, this summer, we are doing lots of swimming with him (at my sister’s down the road) as that is one of his favorite things to do!
Sanfilippo Syndrome hasn’t stopped rearing it’s ugly head, and Liam still struggles with big daily melt downs, and lots of agitation. This is not something he has any control over. And it has been tough. But I’m grateful that right now that is really the only major concern for him.
Tobey and Oliver are doing well. They love running around the new house and yard, going swimming as well, and looking at our big family picture with Mimi and Papa on the fridge. Ooooh, they miss them a whole bunch! Particularly, Oliver is obsessed with my Mom (Mimi), and he asks about her multiple times a day.
(The white shirt Oliver is wearing is 38 years old and from Germany, from his great great grandmother (it was Ben’s), just FYI)
beautiful mountain park down the road from us
I am excited to see what God does here in Arizona! And as we face somewhat of an “unknown" here right now, I am learning to take deep breaths, focus on the provision God has given us, and remember His promises:
He is for us, not against us.
He goes before us.
The Lord will fight for us, we only need to be still.
The Lord is with us wherever we go.
He is my shepherd, I lack nothing.
It is so beautiful here! I love this country and all it’s different and beautiful places!
