Home Sweet Home

Boxes, totes, and suitcases, OH MY!

I have decided to hide all my calendars because every time I look at one, I start to feel the pressure.  I really can't believe how fast these past few months have flown by!  It is very strange to feel excited, exhausted, relieved, and anxious all at the same time.  I remember when Kris and I were living in Spain back in 2003.  We were getting ready to come back to the states and were looking at places we could live.  I said to Kris, "Where are we going to call home?"  The beginning of our married life was very "nomadic" in style since I was in graduate school and then Kris' work sent us overseas.  At that time, I couldn't imagine finding a place that would really feel like home to us.  That was a little over 7 years ago, and I've begun to realize that Columbia, South Carolina has become that home to us.  This will always be our kids' hometown, and I am so thankful that their earliest memories will be of the people and places around here that we have grown to love.
This past week has been very emotional for me, and I'm sure tears will continue to flow over the next few weeks.  With the school year coming to an end, we've started to experience a lot of "lasts"- my last community Bible study, the last TimeOut for moms, the kids' last mission friends, etc.  We're having a huge yard sale tomorrow, the house is on the market and Kris has one more week of work.  Suddenly, the reality that we are leaving home has hit me.  Don't get me wrong.  We are all excited about this new adventure God has placed in our lives.  Every time we tell our story and the story of those who do not have the Word of God in their own language, we feel a new sense of urgency to follow God's calling.  I keep coming back to that expression "home is where the heart is".  A piece of our heart will always be in Columbia, SC, but I also know that God will give us a heart for our new home in Texas and then Mexico.

By faith Abraham, when called to go to a place he would later receive as his inheritance, obeyed and went, even though he did not know where he was going.  By faith he made his home in the promised land like a stranger in a foreign country; he lived in tents, as did Isaac and Jacob, who were heirs with him of the same promise.  For he was looking forward to the city with foundations, whose architect and builder is God.  Hebrews 11:8-10 (NIV)