Well, sort of. Last Saturday, we finished packing up and began the eight hour trek from Louisville to Little Rock. Sunday morning we signed our lease and moved into our new apartment, only to turn back around and fly back to Louisville on Monday night. Sound crazy? It gets better.
Being the genius that I am, I forgot the key for where we were supposed to stay in Louisville, so by the time our plane landed we were homeless. For two nights we moved from place to place until the key finally came yesterday (overnighted from a dear friend). So for three nights we get to stay in the same place. I never knew that would be such a sweet blessing. But right now, it's the little things that count.
While all of this chaos was going down I would periodically cry thinking that this is not how I wanted to spend my husband's graduation week. I wanted it to be happy. I wanted it to be joyous. I wanted to make memories and remember memories. I didn't want to be frustrated, tired, and moody. But I was.
And then it hit me. This is exactly what we both pray for regularly. We want to be humbled because we know that God opposes the proud, but gives grace to the humble (James 4:6, 1 Peter 5:5). Instead of embracing the grace of the humbling, I was stiffening my back and responding in pride. I wasn't grateful for God's mercy to humble me and make me more like him. I was angry that I didn't look perfect to everybody around me. I didn't want to have to ask for help, even though we needed a lot of it.
Moving is hard. But all big changes are really. This is our first big change together, coming off a year of busyness and heartache. It hasn't been easy. In fact, at times it's been excruciating. But as I read this morning in Isaiah 45:3, God gives treasures in the darkness so we know that he is God and there is no other. These times of sorrow, hardship, and even our own humbling, are reminders that God is God and we are not. And even though the circumstances are trying, he is giving us treasures in the darkness and providing abundant grace to us as we are humbled.
Being the genius that I am, I forgot the key for where we were supposed to stay in Louisville, so by the time our plane landed we were homeless. For two nights we moved from place to place until the key finally came yesterday (overnighted from a dear friend). So for three nights we get to stay in the same place. I never knew that would be such a sweet blessing. But right now, it's the little things that count.
While all of this chaos was going down I would periodically cry thinking that this is not how I wanted to spend my husband's graduation week. I wanted it to be happy. I wanted it to be joyous. I wanted to make memories and remember memories. I didn't want to be frustrated, tired, and moody. But I was.
And then it hit me. This is exactly what we both pray for regularly. We want to be humbled because we know that God opposes the proud, but gives grace to the humble (James 4:6, 1 Peter 5:5). Instead of embracing the grace of the humbling, I was stiffening my back and responding in pride. I wasn't grateful for God's mercy to humble me and make me more like him. I was angry that I didn't look perfect to everybody around me. I didn't want to have to ask for help, even though we needed a lot of it.
Moving is hard. But all big changes are really. This is our first big change together, coming off a year of busyness and heartache. It hasn't been easy. In fact, at times it's been excruciating. But as I read this morning in Isaiah 45:3, God gives treasures in the darkness so we know that he is God and there is no other. These times of sorrow, hardship, and even our own humbling, are reminders that God is God and we are not. And even though the circumstances are trying, he is giving us treasures in the darkness and providing abundant grace to us as we are humbled.