Blessings in Disguise

We decided to move back to NC when Sawyer was six days old.

It has been six months since we made that decision.  I assumed that the past six months would have been different.  The list of things I expected is loooooong.  For starters, I expected our house to sell.  I expected to find a job easily.  I expected to have my personal belongings by now....you know, like my kids Easter baskets, our happy birthday banners, flip flops...the little things.

I expected things to be stressful and expected to be tested.

I can definitely say that I expected the last six months to go very differently.

There is a long list of minor complications that have happened all the way back to the weekend that we decided to move Payton up to NC.  For example, that weekend, he ended up with stitches in his lip.  We have had some major complications.  Let's see, blowing a tire while traveling 70+ mph on I-40 counts as a major complication, correct?  My job search has been a circus.  Selling our house has been a long, slow, stressful process.  Birthday parties have ended with stomach bugs.  We still haven't found a church.  I still haven't made a friend.  Luckily, I am blessed with lots of friends to sustain me until I find a new one!

The bumps along the way have added up and have aged me by ten years.  God never gives you more than you can handle.  What doesn't kill you makes you stronger.  I agree with all these sayings that we throw around so casually.  I have also learned a few important lessons.

In the midst of all the things that seem to be going wrong (or, just not going anywhere!), there is always a silver lining.

Chad was supposed to go out of town today.  Due to the weather he wasn't able to go.  I hate that he wasn't able to go because he has been looking forward to the trip and looking forward to getting started on something to help him with a personal goal.  It won't happen right now but he'll get a chance to go again in a few months.  Six months ago, this would have been a big deal to me.  Today, I just chuckled and said of course the weather messed up your plans, why would it have gone according to plan...and, I said to Chad, "maybe this is a blessing in disguise."

All day, I kept thinking, it really is a small blessing.  Maybe the timing was wrong.  Maybe staying home kept him from having a wreck.  Maybe, just maybe, God knew that I really could use him here at home for a few more days and by delaying his trip for another two months, I get him here for a few days longer this week...in a week where stress levels are already high.

A few other little blessings along the way are my new NC license plate which is a collegiate plate that shows the world I am a Tar Heel.  As pathetic as it might sound, having a UNC plate on my car was a goal of mine when I was a child...I thought you had to be an alumni to have the plate.  Turns out you don't have to be an alum, but maybe some other little kid out there (like mine) will assume they need to do well in school to obtain such an awesome license plate.

Of course, a big blessing this weekend included a beautiful spring-like day to celebrate Payton's birthday party with many family members.  He had a wonderful day.....unfortunately, most of the family members ended up with a stomach bug about 36 hours later...but, count the blessings....stomach bugs will pass but happy birthday memories will last forever....too much??

Perhaps, the biggest blessing of all is that we have a roof over our head.  If we were not able to stay in a family home, well, I'll be real honest, I have NO clue where we would be.  I would be in Mt P with two of the boys and Chad would still be at his parents...or, if we were having to pay for an apartment, while I have been without a job for longer than expected, well, we would be broke.  So, we are blessed to have a nice warm place to stay on these icy, cold winter nights.

We've certainly been blessed with a nice, long winter.....and I'm hoping we will be blessed with Spring soon!

Look for the blessings in your life...even in the midst of trouble (and stress and tears and confusion and un-sold houses), there are blessings all around!