My Rainbow

Ok, so I had great plans of writing an amazing blog about my family's visit last month. It was going to be awesome! You were going to be blown away!

But, couldn't write it right away. I needed to "decompress" a little bit first. And now it's been long enough that I have had time to think about everything. And the awesome blog is no more. Instead you will get this:

First of all, the visit with my family was amazing. I cannot possibly convey what it meant to see the people closest to me come through the door at the airport. My family and I have a very close bond and it was delightful to introduce them to my new life here in Belgium. The weeks that they were here flew by and, all too soon, it was time for them to go.

Here is the thing that stands out to me, though. After dropping them off at the airport and returning home, I was very out of sorts. Not quite a complete mess yet, but well on my way. "T" and I got into an argument over who was going to go to market to get some items to go with dinner. My mood made it an argument. I lost. Did I mention it was POURING RAIN? Yes. My mood was not helped.

Just as I was returning home, the rain stopped and the sky cleared. Immediately. It was startling. Attention getting.

And there it was: a full rainbow. Complete. Beautiful.

A loving message from my Heavenly Father. In my heart, I could hear that still small voice whisper, "I'm still here. I didn't leave."

I had just put my earthly father (and mother) on a plane. They were gone. But my Heavenly Father was still with me. He always will be.

And that made all the difference.

We have officially moved to Belgium

So the move is complete. Our stuff is here (not all unpacked, though). We are here (definitely not adjusted, though). What is it like to move halfway around the world in order to work with US military teens? Well, it’s different. And it’s the same. Let me explain.

It is different. Obviously. New culture (actually 2 new cultures: Belgian and Military). New language (OK, 2 of these too: French and Military). New food. New stores. New driving rules. New, new, new. The newness is at once exciting and exhausting. Of course, it is amazing to be here and seeing all of this. But it can really wear on you to see and experience only new stuff all the time.

It’s also a lot the same. The same husband. The same kids. The same household stuff (mostly). The same laundry. The same, well, “mom life”. It is rather jarring to realize moving so far away didn’t change everything. Only things outside the house. Inside, it is mostly, well, the same. Odd.

As we continue to live and work here, I’m sure my impression of things will evolve. Right now, it boils down to this:

Things are vastly different and things are remarkably the same.