Restoration

Restored.

This word has echoed in my heart for the last couple of months. I haven’t written recently because we’ve just been so busy, but my heart needs to.  Restoration, it’s such a broad term. By definition, its meaning is  to return something to its former state. 

Much has transpired over December and January. Our goal was to have our family into the new house by Christmas. If you’ve been praying with us, Thank you. With the help of so many we were able to make that happen. The Lord even provided snow right after we got moved, which was extra special.

I’ve missed the quiet here. The sound of birds chirping and animal noises. This week we moved our animals over with the help of our neighbor and friend. The selfless act of a couple who truly ‘longsuffered’ with us as they cared for our small farm animals leaves me speechless.  For over a year they tended to them. We are forever grateful, you know who you are. 

Being back on the farm has been sweet. I look back over all the ones who made it possible to just be living here. To the one who held our hand this entire process… we have seen your selfless sacrifice. Countless phone calls, stops and visits to the farm, keeping us in line when we had no clue what we were doing, thank you, we saw your sacrifice on our behalf! Friends who jumped in to paint trim, doors, show me how to fill holes, caulk and rally all the troops. The ones who stayed up past their bedtimes to get this wood floor down, or even stopped by just to see how it was going. The ones who kept us sane and focused, you’re invaluable. The ones who held my hand to pack up the rental, and family who stayed and cleaned their hearts out to get us moved to one spot. Everyone knows who they are, and there just aren’t words. You have been Jesus to us, and my prayer is that we can be the same for you. 

We closed the door to our rental for the last time a few days after the new year. I didn’t expect to be emotional, but the truth was…that home had been a beautiful ‘safe place’ for us and I know that the Lord had gone before us when it came to that rental. Not only was it beautiful and serene, but it was also close to our home we had sold just a couple years prior. My kids had grown up in that area, and so in some ways it had felt like home. God is so good in that way. We had seen and felt Jesus there. We had watched Him move on our behalf in that space. Chris’ grandpa played Elli’s guitar for us for the last time sitting on that front porch. We made memories there. We’ve laughed a lot, and cried a lot inside those walls.  Closing the door closed the door to that chapter, and I pray the next one will be just as beautiful.  

I somewhat feel like I put too much pressure on this house and farm to bring my inward self back to ‘normal’ again. The truth is, the outward heals much faster than the inside. The evidence of the ‘storm’ is still all around. There is still much to do, and sometimes I find myself down in the frustrations that every turn seems to bring. I just desire so much for things to be the way they were. Please tell me that I’m not alone in feeling this way. 

But then there are beautiful reminders of God’s faithfulness. As I was sitting here writing I turned to see 3 doves in the yard. If you’ve been following along on this journey, you know the significance of the dove in this storm. Today there are 3 doves….Father, Son, Holy Spirit. He is doing a NEW thing. I believe He is setting a space for something new, and my prayer is that we can all posture our hearts in such a way that we are able to receive the new thing that He is doing. 

This restoration isn’t restoring the former state. This restoration is new, it’s a new stirring, a new song, a new surrounding, a new revelation. What we are experiencing in the physical is what I feel the Lord doing in the Spiritual as well. He’s breaking up the ground of tradition if we will listen closely to His heartbeat. My prayer for my family is that we don’t stay so rooted in the things of the ‘former’ that we miss the new stirring, the new restoration. I’m finding that new is not easy, new is uncomfortable, it can be lonely and sometimes leaves us grieving for the ‘old’. But I pray that as the Lord is doing a ‘new thing’ in all of us, that we embrace the restoring process. Open our eyes to see what You’re doing Lord, open our hearts to receive what you have for us. Teach us Your ways as we keep our ear to Your heart. Help our unbelief, and let us not miss Your restoration. It’s a journey.

Be Blessed, my friend.