More than one year has come and gone since fully moving from Germany to the United States. How quickly the time goes, and how quickly the worry and doubt have passed just as fast. What appeared like an impossible mountain to climb at the time now seems like a mere small hill. This change in perspective amazes me not only in this particular instance but in so many aspects of life. Something seems so hard, so impossible in that immediate, imminent moment, that it just seems too difficult to see the good that lies beyond and to let go, knowing that His intentions for our future are filled with hope.
Jeremiah 29:11 reminds me: “For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.”
In January 2023, just a few days into the new year, my husband received a job offer from his German employer to relocate to Plano, Texas, AND just a few days into the new year, I found out I was pregnant with our second child. No big deal. The Lord certainly has a way with timing, does he not?
First, how could we possibly even think of moving to Texas? Second, how could we possibly think of doing that with a toddler and baby in tow? Our family and friends thought we had gone a bit mad, and quite frankly we thought so too.
They said: “Why would you want to move to the United States? Living in Europe is so lovely…”
They said: “What is in Texas? Why not somewhere at least cool, like New York or California?”
They said: “Are you sure you want to do an overseas move with children?”
They said: “But you will be too far away from friends and family…”
They said many things… and God… what did He say?
Hebrews 11:1-3 says: “Now faith is confidence in what we hope for and assurance about what we do not see. This is what the ancients were commended for. By faith we understand that the universe was formed at God’s command, so that what is seen was not made out of what was visible.”
It was so hard to have faith in the unknown, entering a new world as a foreigner and stranger, but it was also certainly a reminder to seek counsel, comfort, and wisdom in the Lord.
If you know my husband and me well, you know that we do things pretty full-on most of the time. So, when the prospect of moving countries and extending our family came up simultaneously, I guess you could say we were not surprised. We hummed and hawed; there were sleepless nights and racing minds, but we needed to decide fast. Besides that, I had imagined raising little German children in the heart of Europe and the beautiful lifestyle that it entails. The one thing that kept me up at night the most was giving birth in the United States for various reasons, but that is for another time. So, with a quick decision turnaround and barely being six weeks pregnant, we disclosed the situation and made a deal to have the baby in Germany before entirely moving over.
In the first trimester, I was constantly nauseous, and I was trying to wrangle a one-year-old while my husband was flying back and forth to the US. Finally, the nausea passed. Then, in my second trimester, we flew to Dallas and spent a few months here in the middle of the Summer. What a terrible combination, which I was not prepared for: pregnancy and extreme heat. Next, 34 weeks came, and we took the 11-hour flight back to Germany to prepare for the birth AND pack hundreds of boxes, as well as deal with all the final administrative stuff that goes along with having a baby and moving countries. Baby T came, and six weeks later, we were back on a plane to DFW - our new home. And guess what? We fell in love with Texas, to our surprise.
All of that to say, in hindsight, I can see so much more clearly how God’s hand was working. As I reflect on the past two years and how things have come about, I am thankful that He has placed my family and me exactly where he wants us to be. Perhaps you are thinking of a move from the US to another country, to another state, or simply from one DFW suburb to another; whatever it may be, whatever new chapter is awaiting you, it will undoubtedly seem like a mountain at first, but He will be there walking alongside you, and perhaps at times pulling you up the hill when you feel like you cannot take another step into the unknown world that lies ahead.
Deuteronomy 31:8 says: “The Lord himself goes before you and will be with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged.”
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