Saturday Night

It was going to be a fun night regardless:

Four couples, seven kids (ages 7 years to 8 months)...homemade pizza and ice cream decadence...traveling from our neighbor's house (appetizers, salad and pizza) to ours (dessert and games)...all good. We played a new game called Things (Thank you Tommy and Rebecca for the brilliant recommendation!) which was awesome while the kids watched a movie.

But...then...there's the rest of the story.

Our sweet neighbor showed up with her part of dessert alone with her two boys and immediately shared that her husband was packing up his office for a job move that required him to fly out Sunday morning. (This was SATURDAY night!) Based on a previous scenario, I knew that if he were to leave his position my brother-in-law might have a job opportunity here. (My sister Sarah and BIL live in Boise, ID...which is REALLY far away!) So, that was my immediate internal question, but I pushed it aside as I was sincerely excited for the career opportunity for this family and sad to lose a friend and neighbor. The next couple of hours were spent celebrating her news and figuring out how we were going to spend time together before they left with our other neighbors.

Then her husband showed up and asked me if I had checked my phone. I hadn't. I've been asked multiple times today if I wasn't aching to call Sarah to see if they were coming here. It had never even occurred to me. I was in the moment and focusing on those in my immediate circle, I guess. But at that moment, the idea that the potential move might be a reality hit me, and I just started crying. (Sobbing...as Jamie likes to point out.) I checked my phone to find a text that read, "Know any good realtors in Auburn?" I called Sarah with poor Jack hovering over me wondering what in the world had happened to his mother who was in tears on the floor at this point. Sarah confirmed that they are indeed moving here....by the end of February (Ryan by the end of the week)!

I've tried to figure out why I was so emotionally hit by this. One, I'm a big sister who selfishly wants to encourage her baby sister in person and have her kids know her aunt and uncle. Two (and more importantly) I 100 percent see it as a time when God is showing His mercy and actually showing His work and direction. You know how it seems you usually have to wait to see His will...you beg for the green interstate sign to tell you what to do, but it's often only in hindsight that you...get it? Or you pray and pray for something to go "your" way...then you figure out that it's better to pray to have your preferences changed so you can see "His" way...but it hurts so bad and it might be years later before you can actually look back and say, "Oh...THAT'S what you had in mind. Ok...noooooow I get it. (humble) Thanks."

This is one of those times when you get to be in the midst of it: An offer on a house that disappointingly didn't go through...a month later is the freedom to pick up and move in the shortest month of our year! You can't make-up stuff like that.

God is good my friends.