Reflecting

We have reached the end of the 4 months stateside. We weren’t even sure we’d get here or when or where or for how long just over 4 months ago. It was a huge stress point for me. How in the world would the logistics work, what order would go in of which state to visit first? How would we fit it all in? Would we be able to see everyone in the time we got, in whatever months we could leave? How much notice would we get? Would we get stuck in snow?

Well I spent lots of free time jotting down the places, the people, the pros and cons and what months were better where. So had already worked through all the scenarios. And then prayed. A lot.

God was gracious and helped me not completely freak out when we bought tickets less than a week in advance. He opened the doors to get to all the states we needed. And put the people in the right places to be able to meet up. (look y’all the best planning skills couldn’t have concocted half of it!).

God saw the things we needed and blessed us in ways we didn’t know we needed. Things my soul had missed.

Were there hard moments? Disappointments? Things we imagined going differently or better? Other people we didn’t get to see? Absolutely… it’s been 3 years of anticipating a visit back. That’s bound to happen. And we mark it, acknowledge it. Maybe even grieve it some.

But for the most part we are longing to go back, ready for what we now call home. Missing our bed, bellies not accustomed to this food (hello unexpected weight gain), even missing the language (I was not expecting that). Ready to see the kiddos and dive into the hardness of life together. We are filled up with the encouragement and the hugs these four months gave us.

So for now we sneak in one last Dr. Pepper, remind ourselves to be outside near the trees while we are near them, take advantage of same day Amazon delivery, and try to enjoy the chaos of months living with family to hold us til next time.