This has been a week of “Lasts”. Last time going out to our friends cabin, last time having coffee with a friend, last time for the boys to go fishing, last time at a friends house, etc. It’s been a week of big emotions, lots of mixed feelings, and the devil has fought hard to keep us defeated every step of the way! We’ve been weary in the battle this week, but God has been faithful. There’ve been times that I’ve wanted to respond to something in a certain way, and it’s the Holy Spirit that has kept more from opening my mouth (there’ve been times when I’ve opened my mouth and I shouldn’t of also!).
Last Sunday afternoon, we had a baptism for a few people in our church. This special event seems to kinda “kick off the summer” so to speak. The water is cold, but five people were baptized in the lake on Sunday. It was a good time of fellowship for the adults and the kids spent some time after the baptism fishing, swimming or tromping in the woods. Our two older boys stayed for teen group down by the lake, while I took the younger three home. My good friend, Allison, had made arrangements for five ladies to get together for supper at a restaurant. Wyatt is 13 so I had no qualms about leaving the three youngest at home while I went to supper for a little bit. Emma, however, had different ideas. Lately, whenever I leave to go anywhere, she begs to come with me-laundry, grocery shopping, dropping off something- anything. She was upset that I was going to leave her at home. As I tried to pry out what the problem possibly could be she sobbed, “I’m just worried that you won’t ever come back. That there will be an accident and something will happen to you.” Um-okay!? I’ve never been in an accident (by the grace of God), and I rarely go anywhere by myself, and I always come back! As I was trying to muddle through all this, my friend, Allison sent me a text and offered to pick me up for supper. Meanwhile, Emma was offering to just bring her books and coloring pages and she could just stay in the van while I had supper with my friends. Again, probably not going to work. I told Emma that God would watch over me just as He always has and that Allison was going to be driving me to supper. “Allison?”, her tired voice spoke. “Okay, I’m glad she’s going with you mom and she’s driving. Have fun.” What?! What just happened here? I was so confused and baffled, but apparently Emma is mostly worried if I’m driving by myself somewhere. I have no idea why, and I haven’t figured it out yet. (I’ll let you know if I do!).
Anyways, I had a wonderful time with four very special ladies to me. Some have been friends to me almost the entire six years we’ve been in Maine, one came along just this year at a time when I really needed a good friend, but they all hold a unique and special place in my heart. They know my quirks and oddities, and my crazy tribe of children, and they love me anyways. We’ve been through a hard year, and each of these friends can relate in some way to a few of our struggles. I’m blessed to call them among my closest friends, and I will miss them greatly.
We spent most of Monday (6/12) packing and cleaning. It was a very boring day, but we did get a lot done. I did take the boys fishing in the afternoon, so that was fun for them.
Tuesday dawned mostly sunny and a day that all the kids were looking forward to! Fun at a friends house! The boys all went over to their friend, Levi’s, house while Emma hung out with her friends Sadie, Evelyn and Lucy. It was a full day for them, and the boys played more games of baseball than anyone could possibly keep track of! We ended the day with supper with the Davis’ family one last time. We enjoy our moments together, our kids playing basketball or airsoft, etc. We’ve become good friends with their family, and we are thankful for them.
Wednesday brought about one last time at another friends house. Hannah’s kids are a lot younger than most of ours, but for whatever reason, they are all really good friends. Hannah has supplied many loaves of bread to our tribe over the years, and we are thankful. Hannah has been a good friend to me, and I’m thankful for her listening ear, patience, and just desire to raise her family for God. We talked about many things over the course of the morning, and it was a good opportunity to say another “goodby”. The older boys spent the afternoon playing airsoft at a friends house. They had been invited to camp out in the yard for the night, but since all of our camping stuff was in storage, it was easier if I just came to get them around 8:30pm. When I came to pick them up, the boys were all gathered together in a circle, and Kai’s dad was praying over the boys. It was a very touching moment to hear someone else pray for their protection, their futures, wisdom, discernment and their future wives. I was blessed by hearing someone else pray for my children.
Also, on Wednesday night, I spent some time on a walk with a friend. Sharon is a dear lady in our church that I look up to and admire greatly. I know that she prays for me diligently and has encouraged our family often. It was good to take a quick walk together and catch my breath for a minute. This week was rough and it felt like the Devil was throwing darts left and right. I had received a discouraging email on Wednesday morning, Allison’s dad was having some significant health problems, the van was making funny noise, and I was just tired and overwhelmed by it all. I know the kids were feeling mixed emotions about leaving, but also so excited to be together again as a family. (Me too!) Roger and I had been apart for 68 days, so we were anxious to get our family back together again.
On Thursday morning I attended my last fitness class in Maine. I’ve enjoyed going to workout class at 5:00am for the past year, and it has been such a great experience. I’ve come to enjoy these moments, and I will definitely be missing working out with the 5:00am group! After working out, I went over to have coffee with my friend Robin. Not many people would be up for having coffee and a guest at 7:00am, but Robin welcomed me! We sat on the porch and visited for a while. Robin has been a good friend to me over the years, and I have fun memories of making a church dinner with her and WAY too much cranberry sauce! I appreciate her wisdom, patience and soundness in God’s Word. I treasure these women that have poured into me over the years. I’ve made so many mistakes along the way, but God has been so faithful and true.
Later on Thursday morning, I took the boys over for one last morning of baseball and capture the flag with Levi and his siblings and cousins. Emma and I took the time to go on a “date”. First we went to the school to say good by to a very dear teacher friend of mine, Mrs. Martz. We have prayed together for the school, for each other, for the staff, and church for the last five years. It was hard to say good-by to someone who cares as deeply about Christian education as I do. She’s been a mentor and encourager to me many times over the years. We prayed together one last time, and cried (because we are both good at that!) but the wonderful thing is that we will both continue to pray for many of the same things even though we will be 1000 miles apart. We will pray for God to be glorified, for the teachers, administration and students. We will pray for revival and for God’s will to be done. He’s done it before and He will continue to show Himself strong, of that we are most confident!
Emma and I continued on our date. We walked downtown Rockland together, spent a few gift cards, and enjoyed our time together. It’s sometimes hard to find quality time to spend with our children, so I was thankful for these moments. We went back to pick up the boys in the afternoon and Levi too as we were headed to Allison’s cabin to swim and fish. Well, the boys were going fishing, and Emma was going swimming. And I was just going to sit in a chair next to Allison and watch- way too cold for me! The cabin is another spot that holds many memories, and the week was full of moment after moment of having “last experiences” at our special spots. It was overwhelming at times, but God gives us grace and peace even in the midst of change.
Friday- Roger was arriving!! It was a bit of a dreary day, but we were excited about Roger coming back to Maine. He had arranged for me to pick up the keys for the uhaul so that we could start loading it that evening. The boys mowed the grass for our older neighbors one last time, and we worked hard at packing up the last of the apartment. Wyatt had an appointment for his hand, and it has not healed enough to not have it in a cast. Wyatt was disappointed but he handled it well. This new cast is a partial cast. He can take it off to shower, but it’s still very uncomfortable and we will need to find an orthopedic doctor in a few weeks. (A bit overwhelming, but God knows!) Roger’s flight was on time, so that was a huge praise! We headed back up the coast, loaded up all the stuff in the apartment (except the beds) and went to bed! Saturday was going to be a busy day!
Moving day or almost moving day! Saturday was overcast, cool and scattered showers, but we had a uhaul that needed loading. The boys have become such good helpers, and we are so thankful for each one of them. Wyatt had to be told to not over do it with his hand, but we did get it all loaded in the uhaul by about 1;15pm. My friend, Renee, brought over lobster rolls around 9:00am, so we had those for breakfast! I’m so thankful for her thoughtfulness, and it was a sweet good by. The lobster rolls were enjoyed quickly but they were delicious! Wyatt is the only one who is not a lobster fan, but the rest of us had a least two each!
We spent Saturday afternoon saying a few goodbyes to dear friends. We met up with Shawn (a friend of Roger’s) and his family for a walk to the park. Then my sister, Hannah and her husband, Josh, came down with their little ones to say good by. We had pizza together as we only had a few things left in the apartment! We will certainly miss being around their little ones, as our kids love the littles! It looked like it was going to rain, but my friend, Allison, texted me and said, “want to take one last walk on the breakwater?” Yes! So we walked the Breakwater which was a chilly and cool walk in June! However, we soaked up the last few moments and memories together even in the chilliness. Because all our belongings, except for some random last minute stuff was in the uhaul, we slept on the floor on Saturday night. It was a good reminder that we (Roger and I) are not in our 20s anymore! However, we survived. We were up early on Sunday morning to finish getting the last of the stuff into the u-haul before church. And by the Grace of God, everything fit in the u-haul, and we were on time for Sunday School!
Our church gave us a beautiful farewell breakfast on Sunday morning. It was quite emotional (and still is as I think about it), but it was a lovely time reflecting on memories and times together. We are going to miss our church family. A few ladies in our church had coordinated the breakfast, and it was clear to see that it was done in love for our family. We were blessed. It’s hard to say good by, but we know that God has a perfect plan for us. The kids each received a big bag of treats and fun activities for the road. Roger and I received a beautiful picture of the Breakwater Lighthouse and many, many cards- lots of thank-you notes to write! It was a hard morning, but a good one as we were together as a family. We know that God continues to have a perfect and on-going plan for us. The transitions and change are not always easy, but God is so very faithful. I’m so glad that we serve the God WHO cares!
I have more to write about our trip to North Carolina, but I need to get back to unloading boxes and re-directing children who are very interested in all their “stuff” that has been in storage for nine months! Thank you for your continued love and prayers.
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