It Is Well With My Soul

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If you’ve been reading this blog for a while, you may recall that in August 2020, it was a seed planted by my children that was the stimulus for us to move out of our home.  Well, on Friday, we cleared out the last of our belongings, leaving the new family a few house-warning gifts, of course, and we moved to an apartment.  I know that many people move frequently, but I only moved once with my family, and that was when I was in 8th grade.  As a parent who strives to teach through experiences, I thought moving would be a great teaching exercise for the boys - there were other reasons, too, but it started with them.  

I’ve joked this week that the Lord answered the boys’ prayer in abundance!  They will not only be blessed to move once, but twice!  I have stressed about this, tremendously - losing sleep, tears, and portions of my sanity.  I thought about ways I could back out of the contract, but I didn’t want to disappoint the couple who were patiently waiting for closing day.  I’ve wondered why.  Why does this have to be so hard?  Why haven’t any of our contracts been accepted?  Why is this happening to us?  Why, Lord, why?  I know that my thoughts are not His thoughts, but knowing the nature of God from my study of His Word, I have to believe that He is teaching us some things through this process.  

He may be teaching us to live with less.  We left a four bedroom home in a great neighborhood to live in a two bedroom apartment.  Did I mention we have two dogs in the apartment with us?  The boys are sharing a bedroom and it’s been great!  I told them that in a few years they will be heading off to college and now would be a good time to learn to live with a roommate.  They have the master bedroom with both of their beds setup, and they seem to be enjoying this arrangement. The dogs are receiving much more frequent walks, as before we could just let them go run and play in the backyard.  I guess this will mean more steps and exercise for us too!  

As we packed and had to make decisions on what to keep, what to donate, and what to throw away, we realized that our home contained great excess.  We probably had enough stuff to fully decorate and partially furnish three homes.  It was an accumulation of purchases and gifts over many years.  With having to downsize, we had to part with some stuff.  The pruning was hard.  Big decisions had to be made.  The boys were finding things from their childhood and reminiscing over old toys, Halloween costumes, favorite blankets - and they wanted to keep it all.  When the keep pile was bigger than the toss pile, I said, “You know we have photo albums and picture boxes of you with all of this stuff.  Since we have the pictures, we can get rid of the stuff.”  Nick said, ”Oh, I didn’t think about it that way.  True.”  And I thought - wow, did that come out of my mouth?  I need to take that same advice.       

He may be teaching us to rely on Him more.  In Bible study, we are learning about how God shaped Jacob over a twenty-year period.  We see that early on, he made decisions on his own, but as he grew, he prayed before making decisions.  I am in constant prayer, but I have been intentional about stopping to be specific and praying out loud.  The other day, in my exhaustion of lifting and carrying boxes, I said, “Lord, please give me the strength to lift these final boxes and carry them down the steps.”  And He did it.  I prayed on Friday morning, as the forecast was for rain, that He help us to do what needed to be done and hold off the rain.  I left the house to get ready for closing and Troy stayed to finish sweeping the garage.  He said that as he backed out of the yard, it began to rain.  

As we look for our new home in this seller’s market, it will only be through Him that we find our next home.  We’re not able to rely on our own efforts to make it happen.  The new house will be chosen by Him.  We can articulate what we want, but we don’t know the future and our future needs.  We are relying on the One who knows these things to guide us to the correct house to suit our present and future needs.  

I struggled with a title for this week’s post.  It’s just stuff.  Less stuff, More Him.  It’s a Process.  As I try to stay in touch with my feelings I realized as we moved our belongings that I was neither excited nor regretful.  I was going through the process.  I cannot say for certain that the Lord told me it was time to move - I may have made that decision on my (collective) own.  In 2019 when I wanted a Honda CR-V, He asked me, “Where are you going to park it?”  That meant I needed to get rid of the old before I could receive the blessing of the new.  To me the same applies in this situation.  Before we can be blessed with a new home, we must part with the old.  It’s done.  Now what, Lord?  I could be depressed, gripped with fear, or we could have just bought something and settled.  Instead, it is well with my soul.  It’s a choice to trust God, continue to pray, and remain joyful, and hopeful through the process.  Amen. 

~2 Corinthians 4:16-17
16Therefore we do not lose heart. Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day. 17For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all.

~John 15: 2
2He cuts off every branch in me that bears no fruit, while every branch that does bear fruit he prunes so that it will be even more fruitful.

~Psalm 126:2-3
2Our mouths were filled with laughter, our tongues with songs of joy. Then it was said among the nations, “The Lord has done great things for them.” The Lord has done great things for us, and we are filled with joy.

Thank you for reading!
Have a wonderful week!
​Kim

https://www.theodysseyonline.com/10-bible-verses-for-joyful-spirit