And Time Goes On......

......Whether we are in GA or in MN.



Funny, I was surprised that children had grown, ladies' hair cuts had changed (or not because they were perfect the way they were), people's houses had different colors or arrangements, just that people and life had gone on after we left GA.



Please don't misunderstand me. I am NOT saying that "life" should only go on when I am around. That isn't it at all. I just had never given it much thought that life would look different having been gone from GA for 3 1/2 months. I was too consumed with my life and making sure our family survived it, to think about time passing by and the changes it brings.



Where I have been searching to find comfort in anything familiar here. Back "home" the familiar things kept plugging along. School started. Kids gleefully played with friends seldom seen over the summer. Soccer started. AWANAs started. Our "life" (the people and places that made up the routine we were used to) went on without us.



I have tried to keep things as "normal" (said very loosely) for the kids as I can. Maddie goes to school, though not the same school and not the same friends. Sam goes to "school", though only one day a week and not the same school or friends. Maddie is in soccer. We are not impressed with the program, but then again what could compare to the programs at NFBC. Though these routines are to keep things "normal", they are no where close to what we are used to. I can't tell if it makes things easier or just brings out all that is different here even more. But, it makes the kids happy. That is all the matters in the end.



AWANA is what is going to keep my sane. I know it sounds crazy. The sheer fact that the Club follows the same routine, no matter where you are, is very comforting to me and the kids. Maddie still wears the same vest she wore in GA. She still memorizes verses. Still sees Cubbie. For those of you who are wondering, according to Maddie Cubbie looks fatter here in MN. Maybe he is able to hibernate longer in the winter here :) She was ecstatic the night Cubbie came out for the first time. Something familiar, even if it is a bear puppet, can make things so much easier.

Not only AWANA, but I guess my bible study falls into the keeping me sane category. The format is much different. All the women's bible studies meet for a praise and worship time before breaking off into small groups. It is really a calming peaceful time to relax and focus on the Lord.

I am in the Beth Moore study. This is my 4th Beth Moore study. I almost cried when the video started and there was Beth......just the same as if I were sitting beside Becky, like I have been for the last couple of bible studies. This time, I was about a continent away and sitting beside a new friend, Kim. But it was familiar and comforting all the same. Finally something I knew about and knew the format of. I was on ground that I knew the lay of. If you have ever had the privilege to do a Beth Moore study, you will know what I am talking about. If not, I highly recommend them. She is such a woman after God's heart and funny to boot.



It is still an emotional struggle for me. It has gotten ten of hundreds time better now that we are in a house and starting to get settled (you can still find me behind some box or surrounded by paper), but it still isn't "home".



The kids and I (and Wade....don't mean to not include him in the whole friend thing...but those of you who know him, know that I am a more social creature than him) are starting to make friends. I still yearn for a familiar and friendly conversation while waiting to pick up or drop off Maddie at school. I still yearn for the inside jokes and history that I shared with all my friends back "home". I still yearn to fit in and not be an outsider. But I know that all that will take time...lots of time. Years to be exact.

So, if you have an extra second during your prayer time. Give a shout out to the Lord concerning us. We are blessed to be where we are, but homesick all the same. While the homesickness gets less everyday, that just reminds us that time goes on. Life goes on.....and we aren't apart of the "life" we loved in GA anymore. My kids will not grow up with the friends they have known since birth. And that breaks my heart.