Homecoming

We very recently got completely unpacked and pictures hung on the walls so naturally it's time to move again. You think I'm kidding, but I am not. Get this: We're moving to Tennessee! Home sweet home to me.

I can't believe it. I'm still in awe of God's blessings for us. Let me explain how all this happened, how God had his hand in this from the beginning...

When we moved here to Jacksonville, FL we did so with the knowledge that we would probably be here for awhile and then we'd have to move again in a few years. Our list of hopeful locations was small. We wanted to be in the south, for sure. But honestly, we wanted to be pretty close to family. Our dream location was Chattanooga, but there was no shot at getting it because the guy who maintained that territory was young with no plans of leaving. We began to accept that Florida was about as close to family as we were going to get for a good long while and who were we to complain? It's not so bad here. His position here in Jacksonville was one of which he was basically a student. He was working in sales under someone who was showing him the ropes. Typically, it takes about a year to move on up the ladder.
Anyway, J received an email that went out to several people. In it, Chattanooga was indicated as an open territory. Immediately, J began to make phone calls. He texted me with the news and asked me to start praying. I asked A LOT of other people to start praying. We just felt as if God has placed this opportunity in front of us; it had been highly unlikely before. His superiors weren't even sure if they could get him an interview since he was a very new employee, but within hours we got news that he could travel to sit down and meet with the person who was doing the hiring. It was so exciting for both of us! We began to feel God comforting us, saying He is always with us and that He has our best interests in mind. Our prayers began to change into, "Lord, your will be done." I won't lie and say we wouldn't have been disappointed if His will ended up not taking us back to Tennessee, but at the same time we knew in our minds that our prayers were being heard and that God was going to take care of us either way. There was nervousness-yes! But there was a peace in our household, too.
Captain J went off to ATL for a week to work with that team and interview for the position. He felt prepared and confident and that's all we could have asked for. Meanwhile, back at home, I was taking care of our boys and toying with the idea that we would actually be living in Tennessee by Christmas time. Daydreaming was distracting, but so much fun.
Long story short, the position is his! He starts in Chattanooga immediately. As I'm typing, there is much to be done. Loose ends to tie up. Lots of them. But none of them matter much because I know all of this is going to work out. I just know it.
Nothing is packed.
We don't have a house to move into in TN.
No place to put Holly while we wait to buy or rent.
We're stuck with this lease until January 2014 yet we are leaving tomorrow.
We're in a real pickle.

None of that matters, though. We're going home!

Four years ago- almost to the day- I packed up my life and moved to Alaska. Four states and two kids later, and we're all headed back to where our hearts have always been. We're so grateful.

God is good. Thanks for praying.