Move On - Let It Go

The process of moving has made us reach to the very back of every cupboard and closet to deal with the things that have have been stored and tucked away, hidden from our reach and view.  Many things tucked and stored away, I have forgotten I even had.

 I have thought of myself as a pretty minimal "saver" as I  frequently purge stuff; but  what I have found out, thru this moving process, is that I have frequently purged of the things I have kept in view and in reach, but there has been things hidden away, out of reach and out of view and easily forgotten.  These hidden items have been taking up space, even though I have not been paying attention to them.



Many of the things tucked away, out of reach and view, are things that I folded and neatly placed and sometimes it was stuffed in a big mess. It's stuff  I didn't know what to do with at the time that it was right in front of me; I couldn't use it, or let it go; so I put it where I didn't have to deal with it, and then promptly forgot about it, but let it remain there, taking up space.

This has been a very tangible exercise of what happens in our hearts.  We tuck away the things we don't know how to handle or where to go with it, so we just neatly tuck it away or wad it up in a ball, out of sight and out of mind. 

We have someone to give all our stuff to...the stuff from way back when, and the stuff from today.  Even when we are in the habit of praying and talking to Jesus, we often purge the things that are in view, but there are some things that we have forgotten are tucked away and hidden in our hearts. 
 We eventually have to dig it out from the dark corners and deal with it, in order to move on. 

 This is a picture of repentance.  

 I hear people say,

 Forgive and forget, 

well,

forgiveness is absolutely the right move, but forgetting doesn't always mean forgiveness has taken place. 
 

Some things may be forgotten, but it still takes up space, if it has not been dealt with, and for(given).  I often remember things differently, once forgiveness has truly taken place; it changes to a memory thru the lens of grace and mercy;  forgiveness given and forgiveness received is what makes the change and gives the new lens.

 It takes digging to the very bottom and bringing it to the Light and giving it to Him, in order to MOVE.

We have dug out all the stuff in the closets and cupboards and we have dealt with them, over the last few weeks of packing, a little at a time, a space at a time.  As we are getting ready to move and start living in a new STATE, I have had to dig to the bottom of my closets and my heart to start fresh and free of garbage and burdens.

We taken loads of stuff to the dump and to thrift stores, it feels like our house has been on one big cleansing diet, and now we are cleaner and freer to move.

Yesterday, as I was coming up the driveway from my run before the big pack day, I prayed that we only hang onto the things that keep us moving forward in Jesus and the things that help us remember His faithfulness. God has been so good and so faithful in our lives,  I want to remember and I want to move on, looking back and forward at the same time.  I pray I can live in the present, in the tension of  looking back and remembering God's faithfulness, and moving forward in faith and freedom.  I pray we don't hide or  hang on to things that only weigh us down.  May we  only hang on to the things we can use,  the things that add beauty and the things that have purpose in our lives.

I'm going to make a conscious effort to purge more often, not just the things in my immediate view, but the things that I want to hide away and forget about.

I prayed Psalm 51 this morning in my time alone with the Lord, and then Jaina preached a sermon at church that absolutely confirmed God had heard my prayer (along with many others apparently....as there was a line of people after the service to thank her for bringing such a powerful word this morning.) She even used the exact Scripture that I had prayed a few hours earlier. God is so good and incredibly personal and intimate.

Psalm 51:10-13 English Standard Version (ESV)

10 Create in me a clean heart, O God,
    and renew a right spirit within me.
11 Cast me not away from your presence,
    and take not your Holy Spirit from me.
12 Restore to me the joy of your salvation,
    and uphold me with a willing spirit.

13 Then I will teach transgressors your ways,
    and sinners will return to you.

God encouraged me throughout the whole service; our church family prayed over us and sent us out with beautiful prayers and blessings.

I'm going to miss many people and things about this time and space,

but I will look back and remember with great gratitude, and move forward in faith.

Mother Mess, I Am

I have been asking the Lord for something to share that would be unique and encouraging.  He asked me right back,  "What have I given you?  Talk about that."

GENTLENESS - FAITHFULNESS

He has given me the most amazing gift .....kids....lots of them...all different kinds of them.

I don't really like talking about "mothering" because I can give you thousands of posts about how I have messed up, big mother of all messes, every kind you can imagine, past, present and future.
I have made every mistake, repeatedly, you can make as a human, and especially as a mother.  I don't want to misrepresent this Brewer Bunch because the minute I try to sing our praises my kids will run off (literally) and eat tide pods (or something really close) or we will forget one or more of them (this has happened on more than 1 occasion) and the list is really endless of what has happened and will still happen.

 I do have a unique situation,  I have children spread out over a lot of years, so I can speak into the subject as someone who has been thru it, and is still in it.
  People often won't speak out in the heat of it, until they know how it will all shake out, or they shrink back, after they have made it thru,  thinking "things are different these days," but God has allowed us to stay in the heat of it.
 It may be, that He knows how much He has to give me, to finally get it.
 In any case, this is how I see it, I have 25/23/20, 3 teen/2 elementary, and 1 toddler vision.

 Mother Mess with Long-Term Vision.

 I'm the first to admit,
 I'm not the parenting poster mom,
 I'm more like the mom on the warning label.

GOODNESS - LOVE

There is a couple of things I have learned along the way, things that have stood the test of time since the beginning of time, and I will put it in a check list / 3 step process...every Mother loves a checklist and  process: 

Love God! Love God more than our kids, our family, our pets, our jobs, our stuff.

Make God the center of your life everyday, not our kids, our ministry, our bodies or hobbies.

Pay attention to God more that anyone or anything.

When we make our kids the center of our lives, they believe the world revolves around them. 

 If we make God the center of our lives, our kids believe in GOD'S SON,  whom the world revolves around.

PATIENCE - SELF CONTROL

God, the creator and owner of our lives and our kids' lives, gave us an owner's manual to live by.  He also gave us a direct line to call Him every single day, all day long over the biggest challenges and the littlest concerns.

We have a manual and a direct line to call! 

The manual is called:  The Bible 

The number to call is:  PRAYER

PEACE

Recently I have struggled with knowing if we are doing the best thing for our kids by moving;  Mik pointed out to me that living here, with us in this house, has been the longest he has lived anywhere in his whole life....my heart sank and I began to panic...what are we doing??

KINDNESS

 I was asking God to help us know what to do and where to go that is BEST for everyone of our kids, not just one or a few, but everyone in their current stage of life and considering all their history.

He reminded me of this:

Joshua 1:8-9 New Living Translation (NLT)

8 Study this Book of Instruction continually. Meditate on it day and night so you will be sure to obey everything written in it. Only then will you prosper and succeed in all you do. 9 This is my command—be strong and courageous! Do not be afraid or discouraged. For the Lord your God is with you wherever you go.”

JOY

Galatians 5:22-23 New Living Translation (NLT)

22 But the Holy Spirit produces this kind of fruit in our lives: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness, and self-control. There is no law against these things!

Moving: A Setback and A Step Forward.

Moving update!  We found a house to lease.  YAY!  It fits us and is in the right school district,  and most important, it has a brand new washer and dryer, hooked up and ready to provide therapy.   I mean only Jesus,  the lover of my soul knows the importance of a new washer and dryer to do my daily spin out during this big move!!

 One of the biggest things we have been sure of thru this process is the high school the kids will go to, the school just felt right to all of us, right from the start, and housing for a big family in that school district is not the easiest thing. 

Thru a series of events we felt God confirmed  our move and allowed us to set the timing in motion.  Moments after we took a big step in this direction, our house sale fell thru.  I felt myself gasp for air in that moment and then I just let out a big 'ole sigh knowing God was doing something different....what felt like a set back is actually a big relief.  We are going to continue moving forward in our move, and get settled, but we have been given a big gift of more time to finish well and not in a frenzy.  Charlie will stay here and wrap things up.  I've always said Charlie is the clean up guy, he is a strong finisher;  the one that sticks around so he can follow everyone else out, and make sure all is in order and the lights are turned out.

We had planned all along for Charlie to stay and finish some work projects, he has had a building business here for over 25 years.  It will take some time to transition out and start over.  We were prepared for this, but NOW he has a place to live AND work.  :)

We don't know how all of this will shake out or how long it will take, but what is very clear is that we have been given the green light to move to Montana.  We have a house and a school and a church and  6 BIG and 5 GRAND reasons to move.

 The BIGS and GRANDS are doing just fine and have proven they are quite capable, strong and growing grown-up but now we get to cheer each other on from the front row of life, at least for this season.  I am beyond grateful.

With the new unknown timeline, we are taking full advantage and Charlie will get to represent the family for a very important wedding in Uganda.   

It's like the Lord said....Hey, I have a little bump in the road and while your out fixing the FLAT, I have a party for you to attend.

What seemed like a big 'ole bummer has already turned into extreme peace a big fun blessing.  

 

We know God has given us direction and provision for the next step, and that's all we need.  We trust what He is doing even when we don't understand.
 

Matthew 8:26-27 (NLT)

²⁶ Jesus responded, “Why are you afraid? You have so little faith!” Then he got up and rebuked the wind and waves, and suddenly there was a great calm.
²⁷ The disciples were amazed. “Who is this man?” they asked. “Even the winds and waves obey him!”