It Has Begun - Again

This week I have been considering possessions and needs, sorting, packing, rearranging, measuring and weighing. Deciding what must come with us, what can be left behind, and what we never really needed in the first place. Folding, sorting, squeezing in one more it-would-be-nice-to-have thing into a corner of a bag. Again.

Tonight we will be going to bed in rooms empty of the "us-ness" our things gave them, 4 bulging suitcases and 5(!) carry-ons standing waiting by the door. Showered and ready-dressed for the next day's travel, the kids will burrow into their blankets, and whisper the sadness of leaving and the excitement of going. Again.

Tomorrow morning, just as it is getting light, we will be boarding a plane. Leaving behind family, friends, places that we fit into like a well-worn shoe, and ones that we would dearly love to fit that well into. Again.

Tomorrow night we will not have arrived. Indeed, it will likely be another month before we settle in a place of our own in Bangkok.  Stops to visit farther-flung family and friends, as well as work meetings punctuate our journey, breaking it up into bites-ized pieces. On the go but not there yet. Again.

This is our life, the one God has called us to. And this time we are going back.  That is a nice new thing for us. Always before we have been going on to something and some place new.  This time we are going back - to the same:

city

friends

church

language

bank account

possessions

transport system

culture 

What a head start!

How blessed we should feel to be given this great gift this time!

And the gift of God's presence each and every time we go: Grace reminded me this morning,

"The hi and byes to friends doesn't matter, only that God goes with me everywhere."

When I Grow Up

When Grace was 3, she said she wanted to be a doctor when she grows up.  A strong interest and insatiable curiosity about the human body and all things doctor has been evident ever since. At 6, the desire has not waned.

A few days ago, I came home to a bedroom-turned-hospital.  The girls were diagnosing and treating all their stuffed animals. Not unusual or that remarkable. But later I discovered this in one of Jasmin's notebooks:

 

Grace had laboriously written out medical notes of all their patients! 

Roots and Wings

Spending a summer with family, friends, and trips to old and new places has triggered a muse about family roots: how wonderful they are, and the deep puzzle of how to grow this globally nomadic family appropriate roots without clipping the wings that such a life gives.













Driving through the village where I spent my teen years
Inviting my children to enjoy places I did growing up
Watching my children in wonder over what I found common place
















Listening to my sister-in-law talk with her mother about family generations
Seeing my girls playing with their cousins and friends

Receiving grandparent blessings

Talking deeply with parents

Such things are treasured moments that bring satisfied fulfillment - and an uncomfortable sense of deep loss. For these are experiences that we get to do only in snatches every few years.  My children will see the world, be comfortable and familiar with multiple cultures, languages, ways of thinking - all great things for the future world that they will live in - but they will miss out on the rich goodness of a settled life within reach of extended family. Both worlds are good, both filled with God - yes, we miss what we have left behind, but that is not the muse.  How to bring up our children to appreciate and be able to live in both worlds is.

What kind of roots can you grow as a family on the move? That is my question of the hour, day, week, month, year, life!