Posted on: 06 Mar 2008
Gardening is not a rational act
Chris and I have started thinking (just thinking) about buying a home. This is scary for me because it means that if we buy a home in Portland then we are committed to this city for a while. Lately I have been missing home (FL) because I have a couple of friends who are becoming first time mommies and another friend who is going through a sort of re-birthing experience, all of which requires a good support system of friends and family and it’s killing me that I can not be there to go through it with them. It’s hard to not be needed by the people you spent so much time building strong foundational relationships with; it’s like creating a city only to have uninhabited sky scrapers with no activity throughout them.
I know that it was my decision to move across the country and uproot my whole life and try to plant in an entirely different location. I knew that this would be hard and I would come to a point of desperation with the unfamiliar and I really tried to emotionally prepare for myself for this life changing experience. And, don’t get me wrong, God has been gracious to provide me with friends here who have taken my family under their wing and taken the time to get to know us and allow us into their lives. I just didn’t realize how much time and work it took to have these friendships grounded and stable. It will take time but oh how I want to hop on a plane and spend a nice long weekend basking in the presence of those whom I have shared so much of my life with.
Speaking of the some of the great friends God has blessed with us; we had the pleasure of taking a small, on the whim, road trip to the Oregon Coast with Laura, Jeremy, and Selah (our friends and home group leaders). On the way we took a short pit stop at the D-Q for some yummy ice cream and spent a couple hours exploring the sea life of Hay Stack Rock. Enjoy the Pictures!
It is so hard. I still sometimes get sad for people who are far away, especially my family. You do reach a point though, where this feels like home, and where the people you know here are the ones who know you the best (or at least “current” you). It is nice to have the mixture of those who have known you forever and those who know what you’re going through today. Hang in there; it’ll get better. And we will go get ice cream with you any day!