January...gone but not forgotten

What a month it has been.  January came with a hopeful sense of excitement, we were ready for the big move and the beginning of a new chapter in a new place.  We looked forward in anticipation of what God had ahead.  What we didn't realize was January would put us through some of the most heart wrenching moments of life.

The majority of the first week was spent packing away and saying goodbyes to dear dear friends.  Saying goodbye once is difficult enough, saying goodbye a second time is borderline unbearable.  We are blessed with some of the best friends, which makes parting even harder.  They are our greatest encouragement, but the look in their eyes as you say goodbye says it all.  Within days of arriving back from Christmas break in Texas our moving pods were delivered.  We loaded them up and moved into a good friends home for what we thought would be a matter of 2 or 3 days before our departure to NY.  

The day we moved out of our rental home tragedy hit our family hard.  My husband lost his older brother in a terrible car accident.  There is nothing in this world that can prepare you for a loss of this kind.  My heart aches terribly every time I replay that day over in my mind, I pray with time that too will heal.  We walked through several dark days beside my mother and father in law, brother in law, our nieces and nephew as well as a whole host of extended family.  I knew I married a man of great strength, I never realized just how great that strength was until this trial.  He was a rock for his family, even in the midst of his own grief.  I, on the other hand, only know how to deal with these moments by doing whatever needs to be done, meals, cleaning, errands, phone calls, etc.  I wish I could say it was a servants heart, but I know if I were honest it's because the moment I stop I fall to pieces.  I'm sure one of these days I will blog about watching a mother loose a son or a child loose a parent, for now I can only formulate one words, "Tragic".  

We adjusted our moving plans to be with family through the funeral.  In the midst of the pain God held our family close.  Our little guy was a constant source of joy through the heartache, I can truly see how God uses children in the midst of sorrow to bring joy.  We are grateful to have had friends to stay with during this time who were a sounding board, a daily comfort and a warm cozy place to sleep each night, as our belongings headed to NY.  What we thought would be a matter of days turned into a week, I can't recall much, those days just seem like a blur.

There are so many other situations that happened prior to our leaving that I cannot share in a public format, but ones that caused a good deal of pain.  As we left NM I felt as though I was looking back on a minefield of heartache the enemy had so strategically planted and one thought came to mind:

"God MUST have something HUGE ahead for us"    

It seems so many times when we know God has big plans in front of us we fail to remember that the bigger Gods plan the more relentless the enemy's attacks against us.  We drop our guard because all around us it seems everything is so positive and exciting.  For us this past month was no exception.  Our decision to move was out of an obedience to go where the Lord was calling.  The moment we said yes we threw the door wide open to both the excitement of what lay ahead and the trails that would attempt to prevent God's plan from completion.

In the midst of the heartache and pain, God's hand was so prevalent.  I believe it is impart to the prayers of so many of you.   We were blessed to have church family and friends in New Mexico who took such great care of us, helping with meals, childcare, funeral arrangements and generally just loving on us.  And how we have been blessed beyond measure by our new church family in New York.  Not only were prayers being lifted for us by our students and church staff, but the outpouring of love when we arrived continues to warm my heart.  We have moved to a beautiful place to serve an amazing group of people!

So January you are now gone, but certainly not forgotten.

Many Blessings,
hj