Thursday, August 24, 2006

Moving....

I can't believe that in 16 days I'll be moving out of the Pineda home and into an apartment with Sabrina....

It has been four years and I knew moving in with the Pinedas was the Lord. It was a desire of my heart I shared with noone but God and he took a very independent Stephanie who vowed she'd never live with anyone and put her in a family.

Psalm 68:6 says "God sets the lonely in families, he leads forth the prisoners with singing; but the rebellious live in a sun-scorched land."

I cried the day I moved in, realizing the goodness of God but also knowing that a huge change was coming for me. In the last couple years I had taken on the mindset that I would there until marriage. But God has had other plans and now I've completed one level of training and am moving up to the next.

I know that this next phase means more of Him over everyone. It means I have to press into the Lord instead of having 6 other people around me to talk to, one being my discipler. It means managing my time and money and my eating, all things the Lord has put his finger on in the past couple years but, to be honest, I feel the weight of that more now than before. I HAVE to press into Him.

The Lord gave me a portion of Scripture for moving which pretty much says it for me:
Acts 17:24-27 (New International Version)
"The God who made the world and everything in it is the Lord of heaven and earth and does not live in temples built by hands. And he is not served by human hands, as if he needed anything, because he himself gives all men life and breath and everything else. From one man he made every nation of men, that they should inhabit the whole earth; and he determined the times set for them and the exact places where they should live. God did this so that men would seek him and perhaps reach out for him and find him, though he is not far from each one of us.

Even knowing that this is ordained of the Lord doesn't take away the often uncertainty I feel. I have to be able to take my fears before the Lord and trust he has the answer for them. There are times I am scared, wondering if I will fall, fail or if I will rise and mature. I struggle remembering who I was when I lived on my own and the darkness that shrowded me and I want nothing to do with that. How will it be living with a new person? How do I break and push out those characteristics I know in myself that have the potential to bring discord?

But to be honest, the part that has gripped me most lately is realizing that I have 16 more days of seeing Tong and Jen, of listening to the boys talk about the day and listening to them pray for the food or take a shower. I have 16 more days of April walking through my room to get to hers and talking from bed at night with the door open. Only 16 more days to experience the home and people that literally changed my life.

On the less serious side, I only have 16 more days to pack....EEK!

Well, technically I don't have that long.

  • Tomorrow (Friday) is day 15. I have work, an appt and then I'm serving the MC Grad dinner. Tomorrow, except for a few hours, is pretty much shot.
  • Saturday is day 14. Sabrina and I are going shopping for part of the day. The rest of the day I will pack.
  • Sunday is day 13. Church in the a.m., lunch and meeting with the Pinedas will take up all but a couple hours. Little packing will be done then.
  • Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday (Days 12, 11, and 10) I work nearly 10 hours each day. I suspect I will not be packing much.
  • Thursday is day 9. I have BLS in the a.m. and then work and home group. No time there.
  • Friday is day 8. This day is a full free day as far as I can tell right now. That will be a massive packing day!
  • Saturday is day 7, September 2nd. I'll be driving home to Longview for the weekend where I will be through Monday Evening which is day 5.
  • Tuesday, day 4 begins work again. Luckily I'm back to a semi-normal schedule which may, if I plan it right, give me a couple hours each morning to pack. I have this for Wednesday, day 3 and Thursday, day 2 as well.
  • Friday, is the day before we do the major move. I have this day off. I get my keys today and can move in boxes. I may have a couple friends available to help me move in some boxes, etc, which would reduce what has to be moved on Saturday.

The reality is, though, as you can see, I need to get moving... oh wait, um... I need to get packing ;)

God is good. God is faithful. God is my provider. I have nothing to fear. God is for me.