Wow, it’s hard to believe in two weeks we will be on our way to our new home in Nashville.
It was about exactly one year ago that we started talking about the possibility of moving, and after taking a few trips there to visit Ben’s brother and family, we looked at each other one day and realized that this really might be the next thing for us. It was both an exciting and scary decision…but after taking several months of talking, praying, and thinking about taking our little family to Tennessee, we both felt total peace about making the move. Since that decision, we’ve both had moments of “what are we doing! we love our house and our lake view and our community…and we had such plans for our property and raising our family here! why are we doing this!” But ultimately neither of us have ever questioned the rightness of our decision, and even though a move is always a bittersweet event, it just feels right for us.
We were down in Nashville last week doing work and painting on our new home, and honestly it really helped me start to connect with the excitement of moving. The house feels more like ours with some fresh paint, and I know once we have our belongings in place, it will feel even more like home. A house is just a house, but a home is what you make of a house. Any house can be a home, really, and I’m excited to get to Tennessee and start making it our own.
I have moments where the next two weeks feel a little overwhelming and stressful. I am totally type-A and I thrive on order and organization and routine, so to think of living with packing boxes all around me and my stuff not in total order and just all the changes in the next weeks can make me feel all stressed if I let it. Change is exciting, but it’s also hard. I know we will love our home in Tennessee and being in the south and hopefully it won’t take long before it just feels like home. Yesterday I was starting to feel stressed and overwhelmed about it all…and then I realized that I needed to change my perspective. Instead of looking at the next few weeks in a negative light with a lets-just-get-this-over-with attitude, I decided it was going to be a great few weeks. The changes are an adventure, the packing and boxes and unorganized belongings are a part of the process to something new, and before I know it, we’ll be settled back down into a new routine in our new home.
So in the middle of this busy and slightly crazy season, my prayer is this:: that my heart and mind will still know the rest, quiet, and presence of God no matter how many boxes are stacked up around me or un-routine my day becomes or chaotic my home is.
What about you: what are your tips for making a big move? How do you keep a heart of rest during a busy, chaotic season?
I’d love to hear your thoughts!
My dear Alicia, you are wise beyond your years. I just love seeing your family grow in the Lord through your blog. Yes a home is not a house, a home is where the Lord wants you and what one makes it. Praying you will have continued peace in your move and all that goes with it.
You are always so full of encouragement, Nancy! Thanks so much for your prayers + friendship.
Ah, moving! It can be so stressful, I so get it! I love your attitude here and wish I’d had it last year when we moved (only across town but with a renovation and ahhhh no kitchen for a few months). Rooting for you guys and hoping the Lord blesses and confirms so many little details along the way that you sense His tangible presence with you.
Thanks so much, dear! It’s so exciting and we can’t wait to be in Nashville! Hopefully we can meet soon! 🙂
We just did a move too, only to a city over and we are in a tiny space with little, but still.. We moved! I’m type-A like you and honestly loved moving. Sure, everything wasn’t totally organized during the move but now, unpacked, it’s better than before! So, there’s that bright note 🙂 I also found myself letting go a lot of my organize nature with baby. You just can’t do as much and need to offer it up! I’ll keep you guys in prayer.
That’s so good to hear you had a good moving experience! It gives me great hope. 😉 I decided it’s all about my perspective, and if I choose to focus on the positive and excitement, then positive and exciting it will be. 😀