God Sends Balloons

If I am leaving my house and crossing the river, which is like 2-3 miles away, I feel like I’m going out of town. I have to gear up for it.

I’ve lived in my general vicinity my entire life. While I’ve traveled and enjoyed traveling, by the middle of the trip, I can’t wait to go home.

At home, everywhere I go I know someone. It’s safe. It’s comfortable. I love the familiarity of my town, my family, my friends, my stores, my roads. I could be a walking billboard for what I call “my side of the river.”

Additionally, I hate change. I like routine, predictability, stability.

In an unprecedented choice for me, Erik and I moved… across the river….. far across the river, to what feels like a whole new country.

Eli and I have taken this move very hard.

We want to go home. We want our routine, safety, comfort, friends, family, etc back.

On top of this, our old house, which is now under contract for the second time, is moving slower than a snail with a broken foot, and it’s deeply troubling to us.

So on top of being very very sad, dealing with a child who is very very sad and also quite angry with me for this choice, I am also very anxious to have a clearly defined plan.

I dot my i’s and cross my t’s, so this limbo and in between feels like literal hell for a personality like mine.

The new house required a lot more work than we anticipated, it’s all been a lot, not to mention the usual stress of moving and unpacking. It kinda feels like we are on fire and falling apart at the seams from holding so much at the same time.

On one of our worst days, my mom had the kids. My brother, sister-in-law, Erik, and I packed up the house, we got all the big things and left our house at about 10% remaining. Our cozy, beautiful, home literally echoed. It was difficult and very emotional.

We were still in the house grabbing little things when my mom arrived with Eli. He burst through the door like he always does expecting to walk into his home and was greeted by a messy, echoey, shell.

He wasn’t okay.

I wasn’t okay.

We left the house crying.

We had to turn around for something. Erik ran in the house, and the kids and I stayed in the car.

Eli noticed a balloon on the roof and drew my attention to it. I could not believe what I saw.

A pink heart balloon, hovered over the roof of our home. It moved from the upper roof to the porch roof but remained on our home until we drove away.

Since I’ve been a kid, when I was sad or scared, my mom would tell me to think about balloons to help me out of a dark place. I did it and still do it!

In our dark moment, God quite literally showed us that he was with us and loved us.

Things are not perfect. We are sad and struggling, but we hold onto the Love that guides us.

My favorite thing about the new house is the back porch. It’s screened in and gives a beautiful view of the back yard. I drink my coffee out here almost every morning.

The birds and the critters are magic. The other morning there were three baby squirrels playing under the safety of one of our pine trees.

Watching the squirrels, chippys, and birds has soothed my soul. They’re like little friends from God.

Life isn’t figured out, and we’re in the midst of a storm, but God sends me reminders of his love and faithfulness everyday.

“And He said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for My strength is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore most gladly I will rather boast in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me” (2 Corinthians 12:9, NKJV).