When paths cross they are never on accident.

In July of 2014 I took a trip to Abilene to visit my dad.  I was able to meet a very sweet couple that was their neighbors at the time.  You see, if you know me you know I am a thrift store, garage sale kind of girl so when my stepmom said the neighbor is having a garage sale while you are here you know who was there...yep this girl.  Upon going over there..in my normal fashion I start talking to them, helped them move some things out to the driveway for the sale.  We had a great convo and then I went back to my dads.  The next morning everyone in the house was still sleeping so I peeked out to see if the neighbors were out and they were.  So this girl walked over and chatted with them.  We sat down for a while and had some really great convo that ranged from my family, trading cards and God.  I thoroughly enjoyed meeting and chatting with them.  Little did I know six months later how our paths would cross again.  Most of you know that it is time for us to move this summer and as the Air Force's fashion we never know where we will end up next....true to its word we were thrown a curve ball.  Jay will be going to a location for a year (we will not disclose this openly on the internet) and I will not be going with him.  As this is our lifestyle and we know what we signed up for it doesn't always make it easy.  What we do is we press on and move forth.  During this transition we were trying to figure out what I will do....do I stay here or do I move by family.  Many days and nights my thoughts were consumed by this.  We took a vacation on the KLOVE cruise and for four days I was able to not think about it constantly but the minute we hit land again.....the thoughts over took my brain.  We got back home and that night and Lysa TerKeurst post this  on her fb page and it was profound.  It was like God was speaking directly to me via her.  I quickly did a screen shot and kept reading it.  At that very moment I knew I was to lay it as his feet and not pick it up again.

I started praying God whatever you want me to be I will be.  I drifted off to sleep and the very next morning the name Ben came flooding my brain.  At that moment I had my answer...I knew in that very moment why six months earlier why God had my dad's neighbors paths cross mine.  You see they have rental properties (I learned that in that convo months earlier) and I knew that God had chose them to be my landlord for the year my hubby was gone.   So as I could feel my heart finally come to some peace about this entire situation.  I then made some phone calls and got in touch with Ben.  As we talked I told him about our current situation and he has a house coming available in my time frame.  Wouldn't you know it not just any house but a 1941 cottage style home.  It has been fully redone inside and has the best character....seriously could God pick out a better place to call home for a year.  I was blown away...although it doesn't take away that half of my heart will be leaving for a year I am thankful to have a roof over my head with a landlord that God cared enough to hand pick for me.   So as things have unfolded....lease is signed, I have the sweetest landlords that I am blessed to call my friends and now my sweet boy will come to stay with me until his venture starts as a AF Airman.  I am constantly in awe of what God chooses for me.  Now my family has some peace of mind knowing that I am going to be right where I am supposed to be......so as of mid June...this girl and her two dogs in tow.....Abilene, Texas will be my home for a year.  So thankful for Ben and Louise but even more grateful God crossed our paths knowing six months later we would need each other.   I needed a great place to stay and they would need a good tenant to rent their house while treating and respecting it as it was my very own.  Completely grateful.

~until next time....

Materialistic or our constant

So before I start this blog I understand where this can come across as a very materialistic thought but hang with me.  So living the military lifestyle we live to what it may appear that we are materialistic however I have come to the realization that we tend to see our stuff as a constant.  Now I am a christian and I know that God is my truly only constant so don't mistake that for one bit but again hang on a little bit longer. For us we have been moving every two-three years for a while. When I was a younger military wife moving around to new places was a great thing.  It was intriguing to see the world, meet new people, make lasting friendships etc. It was like Christmas.  They come in pack your "stuff."  Eventually you get to the new place and your stuff finally arrives.  As you open the boxes (even when it has just been a couple of weeks since you saw it) and you feel like you are opening a bunch of new presents.  Things you have had forever or stashed in the "junk" drawer suddenly get a second look, it triggers a memory and you love it more than ever.  As the years go by before you know it for over half of your life you have been doing the same thing...unpacking the so called "junk drawers."  As we wind down this assignment I find myself having a hard time packing my "stuff" up again.  With the waiting of our new assignment, a new place another unknown the thought of packing my stuff up to be put in a box and be put away really hit me hard this time.  As I have been packing up my seasonal stuff I know the routine...pack it up good this time as you will not put it up in this house again so it will sustain another move.  The next time it comes out it will be at a new house for a new season somewhere else. For some reason it saddened me. I was talking to a friend about that and through that conversation I told her it seems so crazy to me. I am not materialistic (I mean don't get me wrong I have been in the past when I was younger) bu for some reason I could not put my finger on this feeling.  Well as we chatted through it and then it made sense.  For some people things are things, materials can be materialistic however I think for a good chunk of military families our materials become our constant.  We chuckle and say we are transients in my family because our roots are only put down for a short time just to be pulled right back up.  When you live in a house that is not yours due to renting it or living on base for the time being your "stuff and family" is what makes it a home. We wait for a long time until the day that we get to live in our forever home.  We all have a book of life....each season brings a new chapter.  My hubby and I are in the chapter of our son almost graduating college, getting married and going off into this big old thing we call the world. We have adjusted to becoming empty nesters (however it did take some time) but as I look around the house, pack stuff up for seasons, carry it to the garage I see the bins of my sons stuff growing up.  As the conversation kept going like I said it hit me....these items we call "stuff" like our family become our constant.  When we move into all the "New" unknowns like the house, unknown town, unknown new church and unknown friends that will come our "stuff" is our constant.  When we unpack it of course it feels like Christmas (okay I will admit after 50 boxes, a ton of tape stuck every where, and paper coming out your ears,  is does become overrated lol) because when we see it memories are linked to it.  Rather it be a silly straw that you can see them sitting at the kitchen table drinking milk,  a blanket they used to cuddle up on the couch with or a piece of furniture that grew with them....all in all it still has the same feeling.  We cling to those things because it is not just stuff but is it laughter, happiness, tears, sadness and so many more emotions.  So it doesn't really explain why some bases are harder to leave than others but what is does explain is why I am feeling that way.   I do a lot of refurbishing of furniture.  As I look around my house each piece was painted with a purpose.  It make be a kitchen table of many different colors, a flag tv stand or a white rustic buffet but in those moments of painting those I have had many conversations with friends, my hubby, my son and family that are priceless.  A lot of conversations that made us laugh, that made us cry, that drew us closer, made us grow as a person or created a new bond.  So with all that being said....our "stuff" in our house brings a certain safety, memories, comfort and above all love.  Until Next Time.......