It has been a crazy busy couple of days around here. Yesterday our emotions survived...barely....TWO farewell services and potlucks, one at each church. We began and ended our day with goodbye's and it was incredibly difficult. At each service beautiful prayers were prayed on our behalf, cards and messages presented, gifts in abundance and we now have a wonderful picture of each of our churches to remember them by. You struggle along in ministry, always wondering if you are really having any impact on anyones' lives and yesterday my husband was presented with an amazing amount of evidence that his ministry here has had some good outcomes for many of the parishioners. We are humbled.
As has been the case since this new journey in our lives began, every detail of the last of the packing up, the timing of the arrival of the movers this morning (approximately 30 seconds after my husband sealed the final box), the arrival of good seminary friends who pastor in a town not far from here (so sorry they have been in the area only a few months and now we are leaving...sigh...) and the good visit we had together (again perfect timing as they arrived just as the movers put the last load into the truck), going for dinner out and meeting a parishioner there who sneakily paid our tab when we weren't looking, and even still having the tv hooked up this evening so that I could watch my regular Monday evening programme before my husband had to pack it up in readiness for our drive to Regina tomorrow....literally every little detail of this move thus far has worked out down to the minute to provide the best possible outcomes. Amazing!
But of course, ME of little faith, struggled with hidden tension showing up in the dislocated jaw and dizziness that didn't disappear until my son prayed for me the other night and I woke up the next morning finally free of the pain and disorientation. Why was I struggling? Well, after so many times in life where things have not gone so smoothly, where waiting for the "other shoe to drop" turned out to be the best course of action, I think I have actually had trouble believing my own experience of things going the way a person always wants them to go. haha How "oatenazy" is that?? Finally things DO go my way and instead of complete gratitude and joy, I end up suspicious and unable to believe the goodness will continue. Duh....I have to apologize to God for my lack of trust in his ability to provide good things on an ongoing basis. How sad is that: too afraid to enjoy the lack of stress that has surrounded this move and talking myself subconsciously into not believing that good things would continue to occur. Sigh...finally things go my way and I am too paranoid to just enjoy the ride. So, lesson learned!!
We do not have to be in a huge rush to leave in the morning, which is a good thing. My husband needs to do some more tidying up in the church office and it is going to take at least an hour to pack up the tv, computers and other household items in our little car while I finish the house cleaning. I have faith my husband will get everything in there...my miracle worker of packing. The only thing pushing us to get to bed early and regain our strength for an earlier than originally planned work morning, is that after a few marvellous days of warmer and drier weather it is quite possible we will be driving for 5 hours mostly in the freshly falling snow. Morning flurries are to turn into an accummulated snowfall of 5 to 10cm and the highways could be in very bad condition as a result. I am going to utilize my lessons learned about not being so paranoid when things go well and assume that whatever the road conditions turn out to be, we will arrive safely at our destination.
I think we have learned another good lesson this week: next time we move we are going to hire professional movers to do the job. They arrived after 10am and had everything padded and packed before 2pm! I did a Tim Horton's run and got them each their choice of coffee part way through the move, but other than that, I sat on my duff in a room out of their way, reading a book and letting them do all the work. It was FANTASTIC!!! They are delivering Wednesday morning to the new place so we have the luxury of taking our time leaving tomorrow. It is time to just admit we are too danged old to be moving all this "stuff" any more. That half ton load last week nearly did us in. Although we are still in pretty good shape strength-wise, we don't have the mental oomph to want to do that ever again. I paid each of the movers a hefty tip for their work, but it was a pretty small amount in comparison to the gratitude I felt for all they saved me from having to do.
Tomorrow we leave for our next new adventure. Now that my secret stress has been brought out into the open and dealt with in prayer, the sad farewells have been expressed, hugs exchanged with our wonderful parishioners and the house emptied of all but a car load of belongings, it is time to get on with our new adventures in the Spirit. I am on the verge of getting excited....finally.....
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