I have moved few times in my lifetime . I left my homeland, Lebanon as a single girl in my 20’s, started a new journey accross the oceans,to a different culture, embraced new beginnings and decided that the US was to be my home. Los Angeles became my stomping ground.
Little did I know that life would take me to many places, enlarge my territory , flex my adaptability muscles , kick out comfort zones , teach me time and time again what blooming where you are planted really meant.
My last relocation was to Colorado, 8 years ago and to date it is the longest I lived in any city in America.
This move was different because it was the first as a family of four, planning for our kid’s needs and not ours only. Leaving a town we loved so much, the beach life we enjoyed ,the close knit community that we had dedicated so much time and energy to build . Oceanside, CA was where we had established ourselves . We were happy, fullfilled , and comfortable.
I had left Beirut to Los Angeles , then moved to San Diego and life was good.
Then one day God called us to Colorado,to a new land with snowcapped mountains, rivers, creeks and cows on both sides of the highway. OK, fine ! Horses too.
We had to leave everything we knew and trust His plan. We had never been to Northern Colorado , we were not skiers, snowboarders nor hikers. We had never visited the Rocky Mountains National Park, vacationed in Estes Park, nor studied the State of Colorado on the map. We had no family there and no friends. We were to uproot , seek a city , get familar with a new community and build a life again. Think ,doctors, dentists, schools, hair salon, and such. Yes hair and nail salons can make or break the move lol 🙂
This is the story of our family’s God ordained steps . It is our journey , what we did, how we planned. Our circumstances were unique , it might sound unreasonable to others, but it worked for us.
Obviously before any big decision like this a lot of prayers goes into it , and only God’s peace can move you forward. Even if it sounds scary or a tad bit adventurous . God was in control , He gave us that tranquility of mind and calmed our spirits.
It was a job opportunity , it was a good offer, we said yes to a new life somewhere that I had never seen before . What could go wrong with starting over again ? Do we go with faith or let the unknown cripple us with fear? Do we need to figure out every single detail or look at the big picture? How would this move improve our quality of life ? We evaluated the cost of living , and the cost of leaving what was familiar 🙂
I had a 3 years old at that time and was pregnant with my second child . We decided it was best for my husband to go ahead of us, scout the land, start his job, see how he liked it ,anaylze the conditions on the ground , see if the giants were too big 🙂 and give me a good report. Solid biblical principles help , right ?
We also thought it was best for me to give birth in Oceanside, where I was under the care of a doctor we knew, where I would recover and have family and friends near me after my planned C-section. I was adamant to have our people around us at the birth of our second child. It was important to have those memories. We had planted deep roots in California , tended carefully for those relationships and our desire was to share a big moment like that with our loved ones . The tribe had spoken the tribe had won and the tribe showed up mightily .
It was a huge sacrifice for us as a couple to be apart from eachother for few months, except for when he came back at the birth and stayed for few weeks . Otherwise my husand was in Colorado working while I was holding down the fort in San Diego ,taking care of moving details,loads of paperwork, a busy preschooler and growing a human being at the same time.
In my husband’s absence we relied on our wonderful family and amazing local community to support me in any way I needed. Key word community .
That was the plan ,it made sense at that time and it was the wisest choice for our family . That season of our lives taught us resilience, patience, trust, serious communication skills, long distance married life , fortitude , but also excitement for a new chapter. We did look forward to a lot of things . We were not doubting or second guessing our decision.
Again, we had the peace that surpasses all understanding . Fear not said God, for I am with you and going ahead of you. I will lead you and show you the paths to take.
As I mentioned earlier my husband was commissioned to scout the land, look for potential homes , a town that we could settle in. He told me that where he was located he found a Target , a Sprouts market , 2 Walmarts ( bless his heart) , a movie theatre, and lots of nice parks. That was music to my Mom ears 🙂 I could live somewhere with such abundance of familiar stores. I mean what is the downside of a Super Target ? Multitude of open spaces and fun playgrounds for 2 boys? Sign me up!
To be continued…
abadjian life 