DPP Day 22: Something old, something new

So we are moving to a new home on the 2nd of January.

The decision to uproot has been agonising - I need more than italics to stress that word. Particularly for me, it has been really, really, really tough as I've had to work through so many of my fears about all kinds of things - our children, our future, people, perceptions, loss, identity (just to name a few!) in a way that I haven't done quite like this before. I've slept badly and cried lots. It has been really quite sobering, and I am reminded again and again of the lines from an old Rich Mullins song: "With these our hells and our heavens so few inches apart, we must be awfully small, and not as strong as we think we are'. Awfully small indeed. I'm learning lots.

On Tuesday I drove in to our new place on my own. I spent almost a whole day there - wandering down the street to get a Thai take-out for lunch, settling a few things into the kitchen and linen cupboards, pottering about thinking over where things would go and what furniture we would need to part with in the down-size, thinking how I can make the place a welcoming home for my family and for others.

This was such an important time for me, and thanks to God I felt I turned a corner and started to look forward to this next, different, new chapter - one in which there will be at least some strong threads of continuity for the children and for us.

Here is a picture of one of the three old fireplaces in our new home. I rather like fireplaces - such interesting, character-ful things they are.

Please pray for our family over the next few weeks as we move!