We Did It.

We sold our house, packed up our house, sent 6 totes to the Far East, said our goodbyes to our pint-sized neighbor above (photo from a recent "guys night") and his mama, and drove off into the sunset. It was a heck of a week to say the least. But thankfully, we are on the first leg of our "Farewell Tour", relatively in one piece.

Our stuff is another issue, as many things made it here in boxes, suitcases, and trash bags. My dear husband and I realized we have a different definition of what it means to "pack". To me, it means what it always has - getting something from point A to point B, hopefully in a manner in which it can be found later. Not to Triple B, ohhh no. He had things sorted, labeled, stacked, boxed and labeled again - and needless to say he found my haphazard manner of moving our belongings less than suitable. Thankfully, we had a deadline that we needed to be out of the house and on the road - so our marriage was spared as we did not have time to re-pack and re-label things to his majesty's liking. As we've had a few days of down time to relax at my parents, I've been able to not only catch up on some much needed rest, but to reflect on the whirlwind from which we are emerging.

On Friday afternoon I found myself lingering in the empty house before we locked it up for the last time, wanting to savor every memory, meal, and laughter that we had there. So often I want to cement in my memory a place, or hold onto something significant so that it never slips away.
As we pulled out of the drive, I looked in the rear view mirror at our sweet little home with tears in my eyes, only to see the world's greatest neighbor waving us away. That is a moment my sentiments shifted, because I was poignantly reminded that our season here wasn't about a singular place or specific experience, but about the people.


Many of you know our journey to this little town in Texas was a bit outside of our expectations, but now I know that we needed it. We needed time to let all that we had learned at Truett sink in, and saturate our lives. We needed our church, to show us what it truly means to love well. And we needed the people we encountered there, to become a part of who we are and what God is calling us to. And as I was reminded Thursday evening, you know you've got good friends when they will help you sort and pack your "unmentionables". (Ladies - I adore you. Thank you for loving me even though you have both figuratively and literally seen my dirty laundry).

This realization, as well as a few days of parental pampering, has enabled us to again be grateful, hopeful, and excited. Not that those feelings ever dissipated, they just got a bit lost in the inevitable shuffle of stuff and change. (And for me, lack of sleep.) We'll begin part 2 of our Farewell Tour in the morning, and although I am not excited about the early wake up call or hours of I-20, I am excited about the sweet faces that will be waiting on the other end of the drive. What a gift when all of the stuff/crap literally gets trashed, packed and put away, and the focus of your days is about being with and loving on those who have loved you.

We may no longer own much of anything, but merciful heavens, are we ever rich.