It’s been a while since I’ve written anything on my blog, but now I’m back and ready to let you all in on how things have been going since the big announcement a few months ago. If you don’t know what I’m talking about, please read this post, written by my husband back in December.
With our house being on the market for several months now, I’ve had the opportunity to have many conversations with various people (both friends and strangers) who are curious about why we’re selling it, where we’re moving, etc. Most of these people mean well, but the conversation usually turns awkward very quickly. Unfortunately I’m not the best oral communicator, and I usually make a mess of the whole thing before I can really explain what’s going on, so this is the first in a series of posts that will be an attempt to break down those details that I can’t seem to get across in conversation. Invariably, when I tell someone that we’re selling our house, depending on how well they know me, the conversation usually goes something like this:
So, why are you selling your house?
Well, we’re moving to Texas at the end of the summer.
Oh really? Your husband’s job, right? He got transferred?
Not exactly. My husband will be going to school there for the next couple of years.
What kind of school?
It’s a church planting school in Los Fresnos.
(Now, at this point, people look at me as if I’ve completely lost my mind. Most of them say something like, “Oh, ok” and drop the conversation altogether. Some of them actually voice their concerns about my sanity.)
Have you joined a cult or something?
Of course not! We attend a Southern Baptist church, which has agreed to sponsor us while we’re in school.
Are you crazy?
I don’t think so, but I admit that there are certainly days when my kids make me feel as if I’ve lost my mind.
Kids…oh yeah, what about your kids? How could you do this to them? Aren’t you worried that a move like this will be detrimental to their well-being?
Honestly, I do go back and forth with this issue. Of course I realize that moving halfway across the country is a huge deal for them. We are uprooting them and completely changing their way of life. It would be difficult for me, as their mom, not to think about these things. However, I tend to fall back on a couple of facts regarding this issue. The first being that I will always, no matter what, look after the well-being of my children. I would never intentionally put them in a bad situation. If I thought, for one instant, that I was doing permanent damage to my children by moving to Texas, I would be unwilling to go through with this move. Anyone who knows me knows that I look at my children as the most special gifts God could have given me (besides my husband, of course). However, the primary truth to which I cling regarding my children is the fact that God is faithful and perfect. I am not. I will make mistakes. He does not. He has given my children to me, trusting me with the responsibility of passing my faith on to them so that their lives can be used to glorify Him, and I know of no better way to show my children that God is faithful than for me to actively trust in His faithfulness. I am absolutely certain that God uses all things for His glory and for the good of those who trust in Him. If we move to Texas and my kids hate me for it, I know that God will work in their hearts, and in mine, so that He will get the glory. If, by moving to Texas, my children learn of God’s faithfulness first-hand, even during the difficult times of life, and a desire is kindled within them to spread God’s glory among the nations, I know that He will get the glory. No matter what happens, God will be glorified, and as long as I am living on this earth I will pray that I will find joy in this simple fact.
So what about school? Will your children be going to school in Los Fresnos? Don’t they speak a lot of Spanish down there?
There are plenty of Spanish speaking people in South Texas, and I really hope that my kids will be able to pick up some of that Spanish while we’re there. As far as school is concerned, we began home schooling this year, because of the flexibility it allows for travel. Already Sam has joined me and Jeremy on trips to North Africa and Haiti, without the fear of missing any days of school.
(GASP!) Is home schooling even legal?
Yes, it is completely legal in all fifty states. For the past two years I have done extensive research on home education, and I am not concerned at all with their education. They are thriving! I could (and probably will someday) write an entire series of posts about our home schooling journey.
What do your kids think about all this? How are they handling it?
I would be lying if I said that they were completely excited about it all the time. The truth is that they have gone through many emotional ups and downs over the past few months; one day they’ll be crying their eyes out about moving, and the next they’ll be so excited they can hardly stand it. Jeremy and I have done our best to keep them informed about everything that’s going on, and we try to be extremely open with them about our feelings. We’ve explained to them that they shouldn’t be ashamed of what they’re feeling- it’s completely normal to be both sad and excited about moving. As for now, I think they’re handling it quite well.
So there you are. A brief glimpse of what’s going on with us right now. In the next post, I will tackle questions about what we’ll be doing in Texas (and beyond), and our motivation for taking our family on this journey.
If you have any questions that you’d like for me to address, please feel free to comment or send me an email and I’ll do my best to answer them.
This God—his way is perfect; the word of the LORD proves true; he is a shield for all those who take refuge in him. For who is God, but the LORD? And who is a rock, except our God? Psalm 18:30-31
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