Whoa! God Says MOVE in 2 weeks!
We suspected that when the time came for Jerry to sell the house and move, it would happen fast. Seems like our faith walk has been a lot of wait, trust, wait, believe, wait, depend, wait....now MOVE! Fortunately, Jerry has slowly but surely been throwing away "stuff" as he calls it, in an effort to prepare for an upcoming move.
We found out last month that the City of Topeka was offering an early retirement incentive for qualifying employees (Jerry is one) who would agree to retire by June 15, 2010. We had already decided that Jerry would do so at the end of June, or as soon as our house in Topeka was sold. Because of the incentive, we quickly got the house on the market, as he won't receive any pension benefits until April 2011. We were certain that it was God's plan all along on this journey for him to retire around June and join me here in Jacksonville. However, the mandatory leave date of June 15 was incentive to get the house on the market so we wouldn't be stuck with house payments with him not working. Like He is prone to do, God sold our house within 3 weeks of being listed, yet another confirmation that He knows our needs and cares about every little detail that concerns us. Jerry has 2 weeks to finish disposing of or storing the house contents before moving out. He will live with his mom and stepdad for a month while finishing up his job in Topeka.
Jerry, Shayla, Ashton and Sadie flew out here to JAX on April 24 and spent 8 wonderful days here with Staci and I. It was during this week that we got the signed contract on our house. How like God to see that the 4 of us adults could be together to share in that time of letting go of our home where both daughters were raised. While the past year has been one of slowly preparing and gradually letting go of that house and the season of life that it represents, I think Jerry and I at least are relieved at how quickly the house actually sold. We are ready to move on to a new place in our marriage, in our lives. The new "place" of Jacksonville is apparantly where God has chosen for that to occur. As I told Shayla last night as we sat at the park while the kids played, I hadn't realized how much "place" becomes a part of us. Just like people, places are integral parts of who we are. They are a big piece of the memories-maybe as much as the people-are. When I first moved here to take this job (which I felt I had no choice in, really) I had hoped the kids would choose to join us in this place if Aaron could get a job here. I still do, but now I understand how hard it is to leave a place.
This morning when we pulled up at the airport to say goodbye to our loved ones returning to Kansas, Sadie placed her baby doll, mouse and beep in the car and INSISTED that they stay there so they wouldn't get dirty on the plane. These are her "loveys" that she could never part with. I believe she did that so that they wouldn't have to leave, so they would have to come back to reclaim the loveys. As her grandpa said last night, that 2 year old is "smarter than the average bear."
It was as usual very hard for me to part ways again. Being with the children was an amazing reminder of how happy and free God intends for us to be. They are carefree and full of fun and giggles, which demonstrates complete trust. How I want to be childlike. what a blessing children are in our lives. Thank you, Abba Daddy for the precious babies you've given us to love. Thank you for allowing me to stay close to them during this season, even 1250 miles apart. Help me to put my hand in yours and walk beside you, full of confidence that you know what's best for me.
We found out last month that the City of Topeka was offering an early retirement incentive for qualifying employees (Jerry is one) who would agree to retire by June 15, 2010. We had already decided that Jerry would do so at the end of June, or as soon as our house in Topeka was sold. Because of the incentive, we quickly got the house on the market, as he won't receive any pension benefits until April 2011. We were certain that it was God's plan all along on this journey for him to retire around June and join me here in Jacksonville. However, the mandatory leave date of June 15 was incentive to get the house on the market so we wouldn't be stuck with house payments with him not working. Like He is prone to do, God sold our house within 3 weeks of being listed, yet another confirmation that He knows our needs and cares about every little detail that concerns us. Jerry has 2 weeks to finish disposing of or storing the house contents before moving out. He will live with his mom and stepdad for a month while finishing up his job in Topeka.
Jerry, Shayla, Ashton and Sadie flew out here to JAX on April 24 and spent 8 wonderful days here with Staci and I. It was during this week that we got the signed contract on our house. How like God to see that the 4 of us adults could be together to share in that time of letting go of our home where both daughters were raised. While the past year has been one of slowly preparing and gradually letting go of that house and the season of life that it represents, I think Jerry and I at least are relieved at how quickly the house actually sold. We are ready to move on to a new place in our marriage, in our lives. The new "place" of Jacksonville is apparantly where God has chosen for that to occur. As I told Shayla last night as we sat at the park while the kids played, I hadn't realized how much "place" becomes a part of us. Just like people, places are integral parts of who we are. They are a big piece of the memories-maybe as much as the people-are. When I first moved here to take this job (which I felt I had no choice in, really) I had hoped the kids would choose to join us in this place if Aaron could get a job here. I still do, but now I understand how hard it is to leave a place.
This morning when we pulled up at the airport to say goodbye to our loved ones returning to Kansas, Sadie placed her baby doll, mouse and beep in the car and INSISTED that they stay there so they wouldn't get dirty on the plane. These are her "loveys" that she could never part with. I believe she did that so that they wouldn't have to leave, so they would have to come back to reclaim the loveys. As her grandpa said last night, that 2 year old is "smarter than the average bear."
It was as usual very hard for me to part ways again. Being with the children was an amazing reminder of how happy and free God intends for us to be. They are carefree and full of fun and giggles, which demonstrates complete trust. How I want to be childlike. what a blessing children are in our lives. Thank you, Abba Daddy for the precious babies you've given us to love. Thank you for allowing me to stay close to them during this season, even 1250 miles apart. Help me to put my hand in yours and walk beside you, full of confidence that you know what's best for me.
posted by kirsten | 11:15 AM
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