Bearing Witness to Blessing Part 4

Predictably, things haven't gone quite as we'd planned.  It's probably a very good thing that we aren't in charge of the Master plan and that we don't have all the details presented to us in advance.  We'd be too tempted to tinker with the parts we don't like and mess up any hope for a worthwhile resolution. 

The first part of our move went beautifully.  We managed the movers and got out of the house with only a few minor glitches. Namely, a lot of dog poop, a lost great dane and tons of cleaning. Those glitches did cause some tears and set backs but we pulled it together and were even on the road by 4pm on Wednesday, as scheduled.

The most heart breaking moment, other than locking the door for the last time, was watching K14 and her two best friends, standing in the mud and rain, holding each other and sobbing.  The pain of my children can break my most resolute heart.  We set out for our new home with a van full of odds and ends and five bruised hearts.  As I told H11, "Sad is okay.  We can all be sad together.  Turning sad into mad isn't okay.  Even if it makes you feel stronger." I think we'll all need to be reminded of sad versus mad over the next weeks.

On our way out of town, we stopped to pick up cash and the family dog.  The ATM receipt showed that we had a higher balance in our checking account than we ever, ever had before.  A sign that the old house had closed and that we were officially homeless.  The rest of the trip to our new home was long and, at times, tearful, but uneventful.  I said a prayer of thanksgiving that is was over and went straight to bed.

Thursday morning brought fresh disappointment.  The new house didn't close.  The mortgage company was unable to give us a new closing date.  They have processes, you know.  The day stretched before us with nothing to do.  No home to move into.  No plan. 

We went shopping.  Kohl's was having a sale.  I had pre-Christmas Kohl's dollars. Everyone got to buy something they wanted but didn't need.  Three pairs of jeans, four shirts, three pairs of leggings and two Star Wars action figures cost us $28.  We love Kohl's. 

We only wish the grocery shopping had been as cheap!  We are staying with friends until Saturday so we felt the need to provide the New Year's Eve party food.  We let M6 and S8 push the tiny kids carts.  We filled them to the top with party food, shrimp, sodas, champagne and strawberry cream cheese.  Not our normal shopping routine by any means.  Three pizzas from Little Caesar's gave us another positive moment in our unexpected day. 

After getting the kids to bed last night, R and I sat down and discussed our options.  What looked bleak at the beginning of the conversation turned into blessing after blessing and prayers of thanksgiving by the end.  God is so good and taking a moment to recognize the goodness, especially when the circumstances are unexpected, is an exercise worth doing. 

We have exactly what we need, it may not be what we wanted or what we thought we needed, but we have EXACTLY what we NEED, and then some.  And then quite a bit more.  Our things are taken care of.  We have food, shelter and clothing.  We will be spending next week in a hotel, with a pool.  We were even able to find a store that had bathing suits for sale!  The hotel allows animals.  It serves breakfast.  It has connecting rooms.  It has weekly rates.  Our plan B is God's plan A and we are blessed.

We'll be spending tonight celebrating the New Year with friends who feel like family.  We'll be missing the friends that we've celebrated with over the past years and pray that we are able to celebrate together in the future.  We will be praying for all our friends and family tonight.  Our prayer will be that God will reign down blessing on all and give eyes to truly see those blessings as they appear.