Unpacking

Yeah, it's still happening. If you have never moved, consider yourself lucky. If you have moved, and it was to somewhere with a familiar flow, consider yourself blessed. And if you have moved and was able to find all the hardware for your bed frames, tables, and desks, how does it feel to be God's favorite?

As we sit here, unpacking each box and adjusting to the new normal, I have been trying to find time to journal and meditate because my feelings and emotions are still all over the place. I didn't expect August to be such a hard month, but then I realized that with all the other moves, we had more time because we landed a month or two before school started. We lived in a house on base which makes all the difference when trying to acclimate. Alaska was America with the exception of bears eating the trash. We touched down in Japan with ready made friends for both the kids and myself. This. This is different. It feels like we hit the ground running at this location. We are in a village about 25 minutes from the installation. From the voltage to the trash requirements, it's nothing like what we are use to. School starts 30 minutes earlier, but as you guessed it, none of these kids are trying to hit the pillow any earlier.

Yeah, I know it sounds like much to do about nothing, but if you've never moved out of state let alone out of country, there is nothing for you to compare it to. I'm sure as the days pass and I get into a routine, and each thing finds it special new home on a shelf in this house, it will get easy.

Anyway, all that to say that while I was journaling today, this statement came up: In this state of unpacking, I am unpacking.

I began to list all the things that I still unpacking a month into the move to Germany. Being brutally honest with yourself is one of the first steps to moving through an emotion, but no one said it was going to be pretty. After I finished that list, I moved on to all the positive things waiting to replace those things. That list is pretty amazing, but I gotta make room. And the only to do that is to process what's there now.

As I look at the boxes, I just want it to be over and done with. But that's not how this works. It takes time to cut open the box and carefully unwrap it. Then determine whether it needs to be washed before I put it away. If so, that's gonna take more time. If not, then I have to decide where it should go. Rushing the process doesn't really help because then I just end up with things all over the floor because the cabinets are ready yet.

I'm taking my time with the unpacking. Both literally and figuratively. Letting things sit in boxes until I can get to them. And then discarding the boxes once they are empty.

Eventually the clutter will be minimized. Everything will be in its appropriate place, and I will be able to relax in this beautiful space that I will call home for the next 3 years.

As I closed my meditation, I pulled a card and it said "Gratitude Brings Abundance."

So I sat down and made a list of the things I'm grateful in this present state. Yes, in the midst of the clutter and unsettledness, there are things that I am grateful for. Obviously, I needed to get still for God to remind me of them.