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."
It is a sad day for NiNi & YeaYea again. Saying goodbye is never easy. However wherever God leads you His abundant grace pursues you.
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