Wednesday, September 19, 2018

Even in the turbulence...



Blossom said to me today, "Mum, your mind must feel like it's in a cyclone at the moment." And I stopped to ponder that. 
She was right. Mentally and emotionally my mind is whirling.

We've had a couple of setbacks with our move this week - or perhaps I should say one set-back and one set-forward?




We had booked the moving van and the moving men for Tuesday 25th. All good. We knew we could pace ourselves with the packing with that as our end date.

But... then the moving company informed us they have staff off injured and would have to bring the moving date forward to Sunday 23rd. Oh dear. Need to pick up the pace with packing now.

Then there was the September 17th settlement of the house purchase - the owners had to delay it until tomorrow, Thursday 20th. Fair enough, we could manage that, though it meant we would not be able to do a few things at the house before moving day.

But...then the owners needed to delay again before settlement. 
It may be Friday 21st, and it may be not. 




So life is a bit up in the air at present.

Packing up a house is exhausting physically, mentally and emotionally. My body keeps threatening to give out, but I do take a rest around morning tea and early afternoon for a snack and lots of water. 
By late afternoon though, I need to lie down and just do nothing for an hour or so until Mr E arrives home from work. Then he does a bit of packing, and just before the sun sets we drive down to the next suburb and buy dinner. 

Gotta tell you, not having to think about cooking a meal right now is a blessing.




So, yeh, my mind is a bit like a cyclone at the moment with all sorts of concerns and thoughts swirling and churning away, a sense that others have taken control and are directing our course...but there's also this very real calm right in the middle because I can feel Jesus' arms wrapped tight around me and I know it's all going to be okay.

This morning He led me to Psalm 37 and as I slowly read through each verse my heart lifted and hope was renewed.

Everyone has a storm season, perhaps many of them, but if you can rest your mind on Jesus and trust Him to wrap you close and walk with you through the turbulence, you will manage the stormy season and come through the other side. 

"You will keep him in perfect peace, 
Whose mind is stayed on You,
because he trusts in You."
Isaiah 26:3

The photos above were found on Google images when I went searching for a beautiful desktop wallpaper for my laptop today. It's Spring in Australia and as this season signifies new life, fresh beginnings and hope, I thought I'd share a few with you. 
Makes the heart smile, yes?

May you know what it is to be held in the arms of Jesus, to be assured that even in the storm you are never alone and need not be afraid.

hugs


28 comments:

Nanna Chel said...

Jenny, sorry to hear about the hiccups regarding your moving date. You are being very wise having rests during the day. School holidays are coming up so your hubby will soon be around to help all day. I will keep praying that everything will fall into place.

Allie said...

I'm glad you're resting when you can hon, very important - none of this is a surprise to God, He's got you sweetie. Good girl on buying dinner when you need to. I've been doing the same on days I work - just too tired to cook. Praying the timing all works out!

Unknown said...

The Psalms. Always a good place to live in. In my Bible I have circled Trust, Delight, Commit then Rest as in be still. Then I have noted to run and read Psa 72:18-19! ❤️ Continuing to pray for smoother sailing today. Yet it is in the trials we grow and get to see God’s victory and glory!

Suzan said...

Much love and best wishes for you and your move.

Jill at emeraldcottage said...

Urgh I hate moving house, you're so right, its emotionally, mentally and physically exhausting. Actually your post has made me feel a bit bettre - I too like (need) to take a nap late afternoon, I always feel so guilty bout this - "everyone else manages without a sleep, why can't I" - so in a funny way its nice to hear that someone else also needs a nap! Hope the rest of the packing and moving goes as smoothly as it can,

Happy napping!
Jillxo

ritanicholsec@yahoo.com said...

This coming Sunday will be a year since I last moved. Here we are a year later, the house feels like home now and we are enjoying the turn of the seasons. We still have boxes to unpack and home improvement projects to finish or start. It all takes time. I'm thinking of you and praying for your move to go smoothly.

Unknown said...

I clicked on your blog when I noticed a pin cushion with the letter ‘C’ as that is my initial. But I received much more than a free pattern. Jesus used you to minister to me with your beautiful words of encouragement. Thank you and praise Jesus for His love and mercy. God bless you.

SewWithHeart said...

We also had an issue when we sold our last house, the purchaser delayed the settlement date for another two weeks. The problem was we had our new house to pay for and the existing mortgage, the delays were costing us a lot of money. Her solicitor negotiated a penalty of $200, truly l know things happen but we have always normally settled on time and done everything required to do that. So l too found out, settlement although legally documented means absolutely nothing. I don't know how people settle a sale and a purchase in the one day. I wish you well and l hope these hurdles are forgotten once you get that key and you household items settled.

Anonymous said...

Bonsoir Jenny

Oui il est difficile de ne pas avoir l'esprit qui "tourbillonne" dans des instants pareils ...
J'espère que vous allez pouvoir avoir votre maison et y trouver la quiétude nécessaire à votre équilibre
Bisous de la France
Françoise

jrtemps said...

Oh my goodness, Brings back so many thoughts of my move 5 months ago. Two houses in Escrow , Husband had Emergency Triple Bypass Surgery as the movers were at our home packing us up to move to another State. Fast forward 5 months and we are well. Husband is doing very well. You can do this move. So excited for you. Many Blessings to you and your family. Just Breath and take one day at a time.

lil red hen said...

I have recently found Psalm 34:4 to be a real comfort to me. God bless you in this move.

Farm Quilter said...

In a year, you will be able to look back and see the hand of God in every facet of this move...until then, just trust and lean on Him for all your needs to be met. I'm glad you are taking care of yourself with the tea time and a rest - you know your limitations best and you do need to take care of yourself!! Keeping you in my prayers.

Lin said...

Thinking of you Jenny. xx

profumo di lavanda said...

jenny, abbi cura di te, fai le cose con calma, come tu hai detto, Il Signore è con te e con Lui vicino, tutto andrà bene.un abbraccio
Rosalba

Lizblois said...

Hello Jenny, I believe I have been led to your website and blog to be encouraged and hopefully in turn it will encourage you. I am going through the moving process at the moment, we haven’t moved for 36 years and there have been a few hiccups along the way but reading of your experiences has really helped me. I am learning to be patience to trust in God and to believe his promises, he does cause me to lay down in green pastures and he restores my soul, may he do the same for you. He is the one who is in control and ge can do a much better job of directing things than we can. Bless you and thank you for your wise words and your embroidery inspiration, I have started the alphabet sew along and I’m loving it.

Sherry said...

Thank you again for sharing your joys and trials and how the Lord helps you walk through them. Isaiah 23:6 has been my life verse for many years. I memorized it when I was waiting to have our firstborn and my husband was overseas on a Navy ship. It has calmed my heart many times since. Bless you as you move to your new home.

Janice said...

They say that buying a house and the subsequent move is one of the most stressful things you encounter. Working where I do, I see all the time that the perfectly smooth settlement process on a sale and purchase is rare. I suppose all you can do is go with the flow. Psalm 37 really is perfect advice for a time like this. Hopefully, this time next week you will be in your new home. At least you are an expert at getting settled in a new home relatively quickly, so you are at a distinct advantage in that respect. You are certainly in my thoughts.

Glenise said...

Stay positive Jenny. This storm will pass and clear sunny skies will follow. All of your followers are praying for a successful move for you. Good luck.

Glenise said...

Stay positive Jenny. This storm will pass and clear sunny skies will follow. All of your followers are praying for a successful move for you. Good luck.

Susan said...

Yes, there are always hiccups, but the Lord knows what the timing is, and it will all work for your good. I hope you are not having migraines. That's my prayer for you every day.

Lline said...

I've just recently moved again too after only one year there. We were told to move because the landlord said he wanted to sale. The day of the move out inspection we still didn't have a place to go. When at the end of the inspection the property management owner(normally his daughter does the inspections, but she had be sick for a month) asked me the new address to send us our deposit I told him as of midnight we were homeless. He stared at me a moment. I told him we were looking at one of his properties the next day. He asked if we could afford the deposit and rent. I told him yes. He got on the phone then and there, cancelled the showing and gave us the house. Needless to say I took the house sight unseen. I took about 6 weeks for the people to leave and general cleaning to happen before we could move in. My younger son took us in until we could move to the new place. God definitely had his hands on us. I can see his hands on you as well. There is a reason for all the little oopsies. You just need to let Him take care of everything. You may never know the why of something but we do know He knows so everything will be just right if we just get out of His way. That's the hard part. I can see you are waiting on His timing. Just take a deep breath, step back and wait. And while you're waiting you can envision all your pretties hanging on the walls, laying on table tops and covering you beds of your own home in the bright spring sunshine. That should put a smile on your face. I see a few mounting rods in your future. lol. By the way I have a little trick I use when moving. If you have a garage at your new place take a piece of chalk and mark out spaces for every room and as the boxes come off the truck you can have stuff sorted. That way you can do one room at a time as slowly as you need to. Of course you have moved enough that you may have a better plan already. Enjoy your new home.

Winifred said...

Moving is such a stressful thing to have to do. I prefer old houses with lovely traditional features but have never managed to have one. We've only had two houses both new so didn't have the problem of previous owners messing us around. Mind you builders are not averse to delaying things either.

It will be worth it in the long run Jenny so just keep holding on. Some great advice from Lline above about taking a deep breath and visualise your new home and your lovey stuff in it. Brilliant!

Brenda@CoffeeTeaBooks said...

A few of my worst seasons of uncertainty and stress came during the buying and selling of houses and subsequent moves. I told a friend one time, who was going through something like you are now, that I began to view such moves the same as pregnancy and childbirth. There is a lot of waiting, some pain, and eventually a lot of good comes along. I'll be praying for you!

KingsailK said...

Hi Jenny ,LOVELY photos thanks have downloaded them to use with Bible verses ,Bible app now has an app called Bible lens,it adjusts the verses for you tomatch on your photos!😊Praying all will go well .Love Mary-Lou

Suze said...

God is amazing. For years, I prayed and prayed for my husband who had divorced me to come back to me. He married someone else and I eventually married someone else. My second husband died and his second wife divorced him. My first husband has had lots of health issues and in the 20 years that we have been divorced, we have spoken very, very little. Three weeks ago, my first husband had what the doctors thought might have been a stroke and was taken by ambulance to the hospital. Our son came from another state and was going to stay at my house. When our son got to my house at 6AM the next morning, I learned that his dad had a seizure after he got to the hospital. His dad complained with excruiating pain as the nurses moved him to the hospital bed to move him for an extended hospital stay. So that evening after our son had been to the hospital, he came home and told me that he could handle his dad alone and that each time he had left the hospital, his dad had said that I was welcome to come see him. I knew that meant that he would like for me to visit. So, I started going to the hospital most days even though I have an invisible handicap. When I went into his room, he lit up and wanted a hug and a small kiss. My ex-husband has changed immensely - he has a sense of humor. Each time he says something, I'm waiting for him to hurt me and he hasn't in three weeks plus. He apparently fell at home when he had a seizure and broke the front and back columns that hold the hip socket. He had major surgery on Tuesday to repair his front pelvis and then on Thursday to repair the back pelvis and to redo his hip replacement. Now he is in a nursing facility for rehab. I've been some of the days to see him. After all these years, I finally got up my nerve to ask him why he divorced me - he had told me that he didn't want to be married to me. He said he didn't know - he thinks he got tired of fighting and didn't know what to do. We have talked lots about each of our families and the disfunction of each. He then said he had a question he had wanted to ask me for a long time - would I consider getting back together. I said there were some deal breakers and he said there were no deal breakers. We had already talked about his dogs. I reminded him that I could not stand his dogs. There are some real issues about his dogs for me. He said that he would find homes for them and he would never ask me to have dogs. I told him that I would never play second fiddle to a cigarette or a dog again. He said I never would again. He doesn't smoke now and hasn't since before we were divorced, so I don't think that is an issue. When I leave, he hugs me like he has never hugged me before. There are still lots of issues to conquer. Right now, I don't know if he will walk again. Of course, you never know from day to day since he has had so much damage to his lower body. He is 6'7" and that takes a toll on his body. It's nice to be wanted and I care about him. It's going to take some time to be sure that he has changed, etc. He has promised that he will go to church this time. We each made lots of assumptions the first time and that was a big mistake. I'm pleased that the move is working out. I pray that all is smooth and beautiful. I am happy for you and your forever home. Blessing.

Kezzie said...

Sounds very challenging Jenny but good that God is encouraging you as only He can. Praying that all the details will fall into place and that God will go before you and cause all things to work out for you benefit.
Looking forward to hearing that you and Mr E are all moved in and enjoying God's blessing of a home just right for you both.

Cyndi said...

Today I did a word study on anchor, I found this "to realize the worth of the anchor we need to feel the storm" read Hebrews 6:19. He is our hope and anchor!!❤️

Moira said...

Thank you for that verse........just what I needed with thing turmoil I'm dealing with at this time.