Business of Life

One of my earlier posts this year was about The Wave. I described to you that we miraculously saw God's hand wave in front of us as we were navigating our way into this new home. That was the end of December when we saw detail after detail just melt into permission that we were supposed to live here and nowhere else. We still look back, totally amazed, get a little teary eyed, thank God for His blessing to us and breathe a sigh of complete peacefulness as we know we are finally home.

Having people help us move made it so much easier, and of course, we were completely grateful and thankful for each one of them. But that only lasts for just one day. After the movers are gone, the avalanche of boxes, the misplaced furniture and the bags of who-knows-what cause a severe case of claustrophobia and the job of migrating them from room to room really takes a toll on our physical well-being. A visit from four of our five children, and a grand-daughter, only two weeks after we arrived here, provided a huge burst of adrenaline, excitement and anticipation that helped us "get-er-done” in preparation for their visit. But now, even that burst is gone. The month of February seemed to drag by with all the organization we still had to do.

Typically, most of our work gets done in an office setting. Well, for two months the office looked like at least an F2 tornado ripped through it. Trying to sit at the make-shift desk and get anything done was quite like walking in knee-deep mud. The stacks of everything, from papers to folders to magazines to books, were constantly in the way and we couldn’t find anything. This led to further stress and anxiety as we knew we were behind in bill-paying, letter writing, phone calls, mail sorting and tax preparation. April would be here before we knew it. The clock was ticking. Pulling out hair at this point seemed appropriate.

Enter March. We felt the tide turn as we began to see the older empty boxes go out the door and the newer ones to the attic. We saw less and less of everything in our way. Some of this was facilitated by finally getting our office furniture in place, hanging file drawers filled, book shelves populated with books and the floor began to serve as a place to walk rather than a place to stack things.

Over the course of a few weeks, we have created a sophisticated, warm, organized space that will generate a measure of creative energy just because we walk into it. Part of us feels totally exhausted, the other part feels exhilarated just knowing the work that will get done here in the next weeks and months. And because this is home for a while, we envision years of being productive and creative while things we love surround us, motivate us and allows for a spirit of being completely uninhibited.

First of all, I look forward to working on and completing my upcoming children’s book, titled As I Grow up and You Grow Down. It really has been a fun project so far. There are several other books in the series that I hope will follow, all with a similar theme, but a variation in the content. That would keep me busy for quite a while. It will depend on the success of this first book. More details will follow.

I also look forward to finishing work on a book of essays that expound and express the intense complexity, the heartache, and the bittersweet moments of the past five years. Already underway, as anyone could imagine, it’s difficult to sit with the details of some of those days without processing again the actions of some, the emotions of all of us involved and grieving some of the outcomes that none of us expected. In the midst of it all, there were undercurrents so strong and so sure that gave us the strength, resilience and fortitude to make it through another day. This story isn’t being told just to promote us and what we’ve endured. Instead it is a “God story” that we’ve been told to write, more times than I can count. So many of our dear friends and family have shared with us that what they saw from the outside looking in was nothing less than motivating and inspiring to them, giving them strength to navigate through impending events in their own life. We can’t thank them enough for their affirmations, support and love through this time. Giving them space in the book to share their stories will only give testimony to what God can do in and through even people like us.

I also look forward to the ministry that will get done. Already, we sense God is leading us in several directions. We wait with baited breath for the green light to proceed ahead in any one of those directions. We have recently learned that many opportunities exist here in New Hampshire while some even reach back to Maine and elsewhere. But wherever God leads us…we’re so excited to roll up our sleeves and get to work. We’ll be looking for serving opportunities, finding ways to impact our communities and our neighbors. The same needs that exist in other parts of the states, exist right here in New England. There is work overflowing when it comes to helping the poor and under-resourced, and those who are hurting. We know and are confident, as we know the sun will come up, that God brought us here for a reason.

I look forward to the gatherings and celebrations that we’re going to have all year long. Family and friends for holidays, birthdays, reunions, small groups, you name it. There can’t be enough traffic through our doors, but please, don’t all come at once! We are creating a space that is warm, inviting, and relaxing. The kind of place where you know you can take your shoes off, put on a sweatshirt and kick back. Soon thereafter, you’ll be served a meal fit for any dignitary, tempted by an oven fresh dessert and engaged in loving, light, real conversation. You will feel like you are home, just like we do.

So, we’re basically done with the unpacking and organizing, thankful to see the light at the end of the tunnel. We'll take each day as it comes, being fully present and aware of the gift we were given and always anticipate tomorrow. Projects will get done as the creative genius tells us we’ve done enough and it’s time to stop.  And then, and then….we can get on with the business of life. It feels fresh once again, there is space to move about, it feels challenging always, but it feels “pinch-me-am-I-really-living –this-life” exciting each and every day. What an amazing feeling to know we’re home. I. Love. It. We can’t wait to share it with you.