One step at a time. I tell my kids and myself this quite often…
How do you eat an elephant? One bite at a time.
Live in the moment.
Don’t think about what you have to do later and become overwhelmed by it, just stay in the now. Experience it, feel it, embrace it, and be aware of it.
All of these things are much easier said than done. I’ll admit that.
So, here I go. Telling you mine and my family’s adventures- one at a time.
“Not all those who wander are lost.” -J.R.R. Tolkien
I never thought in a million years I would be a wanderer. It’s a label that can be hard to accept as one you bear because you can be mistaken as inconsistent or unreliable. Some of us just need more time for experiences, trial and error. I won’t start too far back, as that would be a novel and this is just a short read. I was born and raised in California. Met and married my man, had two babies, purchased our first home, all the big life stuff. Well, in June of 2012 my husband took a new position that moved us from the Mojave desert to the sandy beaches of Ventura County. It was a dream come true. The ocean is our favorite place and now we lived just 3 blocks away. We cherished that year and a half before he was offered another new position that landed us back home in the desert. It was a short stay of 5 months before he once again accepted a new job that took us up north to the Bay Area. These years were fruitful and we grew in our marriage exponentially. We made new friends that became forever best friends.
We always knew this wasn’t our final destination. We did, however, stay longer than I anticipated and it was so good. We had always wanted to move out of state, so we made plans to join some friends that had recently moved. We took the plunge and moved to the Minneapolis area of Minnesota. We arrived on New Years Eve 2018 just in time for the polar vortex to take over a few weeks later. We bought a beautiful home and embraced our new environment and enjoyed many new adventures. Cold people stuff… we built an ice skating rink in our backyard, sledded down the deck staircase, made lots of snowman, walked on frozen lakes. These are ventures you can’t experience in the warm climates we had always lived. The Lord had different plans for our other family friends that were hoping to move with us. It was hard. Let me just say, I like the plans I make and it was so hard when my plans weren’t the same as His.
But… His plans are so much greater and so much better!
We stayed in Minnesota for two and a half years. I always say with every move there’s growing and stretching and maturing that happens. It was time for us to move on, Minnesota was not our home. We decided to sell our house and just drive and see where we wanted to live. After covid, my husband’s position went remote and we had decided to homeschool the kids, therefore we were as free as birds to fly and land wherever we wanted. This was so exciting. This was a big decision. We had full freedom to choose where we lived. Not based on a job location or a school district. This was a lot of pressure. The only ones we have to blame if this sucks, is us. But, again we have the freedom to fly again, if needed. We had always wanted to live in Texas. So, after a short stay back home with family, we took the leap of faith and moved to San Antonio, Texas.
We can’t go where we want to be until we are ready to be there. We weren’t ready for Texas until now. Texas wasn’t ready for us. We needed the desert, the ocean, the bay, and the north. We needed these adventures and experiences. We needed the friends we made. We needed fruitful seasons and dry ones.
Perspective is everything.
I don’t know your story. It may be similar to mine, or maybe you have lived in the same city your entire life. Maybe you have moved less or more than we have. You may still be wandering. You know, you can wander without ever leaving your living room. It’s not only a location thing, it’s a heart thing. Even in my wandering, physical and spiritual, Jesus has never ever left me. I have known and felt His love and compassion.
May you always know and feel the unwavering and unconditional love that Jesus has for you. In your wandering, I pray you always know He’s right there. He’s got your back. If you feel like you’re wandering in your faith, in your marriage or parenting, in any other relationship, I pray right now for your heart to receive the peace that only comes from Jesus. He will guide you, lead you, and show you what to do and where to go, when to speak and when to be silent. Just because you may be wandering, doesn’t mean you’re lost. Take heart, dear friend, every little thing is going to be alright.