Hello, March!

Posted by & filed under Hazel, My Faith, Oliver, Ryan.

Well, hello!

First let me say, happy March to you all! I hope your Februarys were wonderful and filled with new mercies and some lovely moments of stillness in preparation for the Lenten season.

(Also, please pardon my extended break – I’d planned to return on the 1st, but I ran a quick maintenance update in WordPress to prepare for my return and managed to break my dashboard pretty solidly. It’s fixed now thanks to Ry’s buddy Mitch – hi, Mitch! – and now I really am back.)

So… February. Y’all, I don’t even know where to begin. When I signed off on the 2nd only the Lord knew what he had in store for our family in just 27 short days. I never could have imagined.

Just a few days after I last wrote, I joined Ryan for a business trip to Boston. A couple of great friends of ours pooled together and kept our kiddos and we had a fantastic time just the two of us! The weather was lovely, the city was fantastic, and I spent an entire week being still and going out and running in the cold and exploring the city while Ryan worked during the days. We stayed out late, I slept in, I read books, did some damage at H&M, and walked about a hundred miles. Boy that city is cool (I hadn’t been there since I was a kid). Even in February, it really is so charming – a neat cross between the big city excitement of Chicago and the character and history of Franklin. Who knew?

first

But the big news: we returned home after our five-day consulting project with a permanent job offer. The kind of job offer you sit up and pay attention to – the kind that makes a lot of sense on paper AND appeals to your sense of adventure!

The following week was a blur of praying, seeking the Lord and the counsel of His people, calling realtors, apartment hunting, school searching, church finding and even packing. We got tickets for my sister and I to fly back up the following weekend to hunt for apartments and even found renters for our house in Franklin. We waited until the last possible moment that we were absolutely sure we were going to take the job to tell my Mom (you see, my sweet Grandma is still sick and we didn’t want to add extra drama unnecessarily) and we finally did that, too. We began the process of ripping off a lot of other band aids – telling people we love that we are leaving – complete with a few ugly cries at a table in Starbucks.

We were excited and nervous and overwhelmed and continued to consider our decisions prayerfully. So many reasons to go. So many reasons to stay right where we are. A million ways to serve our God in Franklin and in Boston – just very different lives. We really weren’t sure what to decide, so we made a decision and asked the Lord to bless it.

But, even after we’d made the decision to go, we waited for the peace to come and it never did. The more we prayed for peace the more we felt that the Lord was saying to us, “Not now”. It was never a “no”, just a “not now”.

And when the Lord speaks to both you and to your spouse in such a clear way – even if it’s a message that you don’t want to hear and would be very inconvenient to act on – you listen. We’d made a decision to go and asked for His blessing. But as much as we wanted to go, we knew we could not. I cannot tell you how difficult it was to make this decision. Both times.

You can imagine our embarrassment as we began the reversal process of everything we’d set into motion. We were moving – we cried with our loved ones at the prospect of living apart (our move date would have been March 9th) – and it was a big, hairy deal. We felt as though we’d put on our own funeral, just to see how people would react to our absence. “Just kidding, guys! But good to know you care! Now you’ll appreciate us more now that we’re staying, eh?” Pretty humbling. And yet, the peace had finally come.

 

The following week was quiet and normal. I cooked, I sewed, I played hard with the kids. I enjoyed my bloggy break with lovely weather and all of my extra time with my babes and my family. It was a sweet week, indeed.

But even in the quietness of that third week of February, another big decision loomed. One that I did not see coming just a few weeks earlier, one that I reeeeally didn’t want to make, one that I knew I needed to make in order to protect my home and myself from busyness in this season that calls for quiet. Devon and Peyton and I (both individually and together) have concluded that we should not proceed with our planned Craftcation in May. We are sad. Our sweet and understanding attendees are sad. And in Devon’s words,  “…we did not arrive at this lightly. But the better part of wisdom has prevailed, we believe, in determining that this season is simply the wrong one for Craftcation.”

Ugh. More humbling. I expected February to be so simple.

By the fourth week of the month however, things started to look up! I hopped on another plane – this time to Chicago – to visit my bosom friend Christine who was my college roommate sophomore year. (She was my down-the-hall roommate Freshman year and I lived with Ryan Junior and Senior year – married, doy!) She just had a baby (her fourth in 4 1/2 years!) in October and I was dying to meet him.

That was last weekend. It was splendid. And I didn’t have to decide anything harder than whether to read a book or catch up on Downton Abbey at bedtime, or whether to order hot or iced coffee at Starbucks. It was a welcomed respite from the previous weeks and it was so homey to be with my friendly friend. She’s so easy-going and smart and peaceful about the whole having-four-small-children business. Also, her kids are so smart and big (her boys are four and spent much of the weekend entertaining themselves by reading Calvin & Hobbes books to themselves and each other and cracking up – they’re fabulous.)

From Chicago I flew to Boston yet again. Ryan had more work to wrap up, and since I was going to be alone with the kids at home all week anyway (and since Hazel still flies for free for two more weeks), I figured it might be fun to spend the week alone with them in the big city – especially if we weren’t going to be living there after all.

Ryan was brave and flew with both kids by himself (applause! applause!) and we met at the Boston airport Tuesday morning. He got right to work and the kids and I enjoyed Boston Common, the Boston Public Library and Clarendon Street Park (which is where, I was later informed, Giselle reportedly takes her babe to play. I didn’t even know she had a child!). We’ve been to the New England Aquarium, the Boston Children’s Museum (amazing, y’all! So clean and well maintained – we were there for four hours and didn’t even see it all!), lots of fun little places to eat, and even a toy store in the Prudential Center called Magic Beans where the very kind employees gave Hazel an awesome floor sample Corolle doll because she grew so attached to it while we were shopping and they didn’t have any left I could buy. Seriously, so kind.

And this brings us to now. I am sitting up late in my hotel room on Friday night – writing my first blog post in a month! We are headed home tomorrow and I cannot wait to operate in a household larger than a hotel room. I’m excited to not have to share my bathroom with Hazel’s crib and not have to pee quietly during nap time so I don’t wake her up. I’m excited for everyone in our family to have the same thing on our plate – to cook my own food and sit down at my own table at my own house in my dear Franklin and continue this pattern of stillness beyond February.
I had no idea what February would bring – and no idea where we would be (literally) when it was all said and done. God has used this month to draw me closer to Himself. Ryan and I have grown and learned about how to seek and trust the Lord in big and small ways. God has given us unity in our decisions, which is invaluable. We are still children – still learning to seek and trust our Father. Still deciding daily how we will make room for Him in our lives- making hard decisions and being intentional about our goals for our children and our family.
He is so faithful! Happy March, dear friends! I have missed you! What have y’all been up to?

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20 Responses

  1. Melissa Vines 3 March 2012 at 9:14 am

    Yay (selfishly) y’all are staying!!!! I’m so happy you’ve found a peace about your decision. I could tell when we talked about it that you didn’t have that peace. Most people would skip ahead anyways and not stop to listen to His direction. I’m so proud of you for stopping and seeking. Have a beautiful weekend back home. p.s. Be glad you missed the awful tornado weather yesterday!

    Reply
  2. Tracy 3 March 2012 at 10:56 am

    Oh my goodness! I had a feeling something was brewing since you were traveling so much. Glad you feel a peace with your decision. What a roller coaster ride!

    Also, I, too, am selfishly happy. :) I was wondering if you’d be up for a visit during O and A’s spring break for a few hours. :)

    Reply
  3. Becky Campbell 3 March 2012 at 10:56 am

    I’ve missed you! I checked in occcasionally, just in case you’d snuck in a post!;) To be honest, I’ve been wondering if y’all were moving! There was the bloggy break, alot of time spent up there and then taking the kids up. I just felt it in my heart…and it didn’t feel “right”. As soon as I started reading that you were actually moving up there…my heart felt uneasy…not that it has a thing to do with me…it just didn’t seem like something you guys would do right now. The second thing I thought of was the craft weekend…how funny! I’m sorry you’ve had to cancel it…it sounded like so much fun! I’m looking forward to the days and weeks to come! Love, hugs and blessings!?

    Reply
  4. Ashley Ward 3 March 2012 at 11:03 am

    Oh, friend, I missed you more than I even thought I would! Your blog is such a happy and encouraging part of my weeks, I’m thrilled you’re back. What a month! Proud of you guys for trusting the Lord in all of this. I still owe you a phone call, was just waiting for you to get back from all your travels :) Welcome back!

    Reply
  5. Bethany 3 March 2012 at 2:40 pm

    wow, your february sounds like what our march is beginning to look like! huge life decisions make the little choices feel incredibly overwhelming. thank you for the reminder to always listen to God’s voice, no matter how difficult or humbling!

    Reply
  6. Mis 3 March 2012 at 5:57 pm

    Welcome back, girlie. At the risk of sounding like Dorothy, “There’s no place like home…there’s no place like home…” :) Enjoy!

    Reply
  7. Amanda 3 March 2012 at 6:41 pm

    Yay, so glad you’re back! I say ditto to what A-dub said :) Calvin and I were beginning to wonder if y’all were moving to Boston too. It’s so encouraging to hear other prople’s stories of seeking the Lord and following His calling. And selfishly, I’m glad y’all are headed to Boston anytime soon, Franklin is much closer for a weekend visit! Happy March! :)

    Reply
  8. Sara 3 March 2012 at 10:05 pm

    Okay everyone else is happy but I’m a little disappointed. Boston is only 3 hours away from me so if you ever had any sort of get-together or anything I’d totally be able to real life meet you. Boo. Anyways it looks like you had a ton of fun! And the animated photo is hilarious with the Raisin baby.

    Reply
  9. Ashley 3 March 2012 at 10:53 pm

    So happy you’re back. What a month! LOVE the pic-s? (I forget what that’s called- ha!) of you swooping in to steal a smooch from those sweet cheeks! So glad you guys had a fun trip! Wish we coulda been there to meet up! xo!

    Reply
  10. Barbie 3 March 2012 at 11:27 pm

    Welcome back to blogging. God is so faithful. And even though I am sure this was a hard decision for you and your family, you will be blessed because of it.

    Reply
  11. Jackie 5 March 2012 at 1:19 am

    Welcome back-checked by your blog occasionally and so glad you are joining us again :-)
    On a more selfish note, did you make that darling dress? can you share the tute? pretty, please?

    Reply
    • Raechel Myers 5 March 2012 at 2:28 pm

      Hi Jackie! Yes, I made the dress. I used the “Claire” pattern by Portobello Pixie. I’m not sure if it’s still available for purchase but you might be able to find it on her site or on Etsy.

      Reply
  12. Kristen 5 March 2012 at 9:19 am

    I have to tell you, I had a feeling at some point that you might be moving to Boston. Seems like you had a crazy February. Hope all gets back to “normal” soon. And I have VERY MUCH missed reading your blog.

    Reply
  13. Christine 5 March 2012 at 10:07 pm

    Truly that gif is mesmerizing.

    And I’m glad that your Boston trip was good and fun and that you got a free doll out of the deal! Score!

    We miss you over here. Love.

    Reply

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