the rock in the midst of transition

Phew!  It feels so good to just sit in the quiet house tonight.  We're right in the midst of so much transition!  Packing up our house is taking my brain to the edge of keeping track of details!
 

John and I are pretty exhausted right now.  But we're also super-thankful.  There's a group of people from our community here heading to our new city.  They're taking 20 crates of our stuff with them!  I'm so thankful for each little touch of the familiar that I get to pack.  And I think of myself on the other side of the world in a few months unpacking these things and making our new place feel like home.  And I smile!  There's the first 12 in that picture.  Aren't they pretty?  Well, they are to me!  :-)  Crates 13 and 14 are almost done.  For some reason, they were the hardest.  Getting rid of things I love isn't always my favorite, but it's doable.  And the reason is so worth it.  Today I went through our kids' stuff, and it was way harder.  I even shed a couple tears.  A precious friend was over here helping me.  (By the way, look what she brought me for my table so that there is a touch of cheer in the midst of the boxes!)

As we worked through the kids' stuff together, she held up this rock...

Zach has had this rock in his treasures for a couple years but decided he could live without it about a week ago.  So I threw it out in the back yard.  Catie FOUND it one day and brought it back in.  So the next time no one was outside, I threw it in another direction.  But there it was inside again.  (John had found it.)  When I shared the undying rock story with my friend, she said, "Have you looked up the verse?"  NO!  I hadn't!  What a great idea!  So she got my Bible and read this to me...

...you also, like living stones, are being built into a spiritual house to be a holy priesthood, offering spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ.  I Peter 2:5

It just rocked my world today and changed my perspective.  As the kids have had meltdowns tonight, as we each deal with transition and the losses differently, this verse has been my rock.  Yes, we're tearing down our house right now.  But God is building us into a spirual house!

Our boxes need to be given to the friends who are taking them over by Friday, so we'd really appreciate your prayers during this time.  Thank you, friends, for reading and for walking with us!!