So, we’ve been back in Portugal for 8 days now. We’ve had internet for 4. I’ve been meaning/wanting to sit down and blog finally, but am at a loss for where to begin.
What comes to mind is this. The last Sunday we were in Texas we went to church with my mom, and I’m not even sure what the preacher was talking about, but he mentioned this as he was closing out 2012 and looking ahead to 2013:
“I don’t know what kind of year 2012 was for you. Perhaps it was incredible and you were praising God for all the good things taking place. But, perhaps it was just plain rough. And I hope for those of you whose year was rough can know that God was in even it.” Those words just stung me. Rough. Indeed. For me, finally sitting and looking back…”rough” is a pretty good way to describe 2012 for our family.
1. it was “rough” packing up our life that we finally felt was starting to thrive here in Portugal
2. it was “rough” arriving back to the states and finding that instead of going to a dude ranch with your in-laws, you’d lend your husband to weeks in a hospital with his father at deaths door
3. it was “rough” watching all my loved ones grieve over a giant loss
4. it was “rough” not feeling truly settled for six months…living in a borrowed house, being on the road so much and feeling like you’re constantly living out of a suitcase (trust me…it’s exhausting), not having a “real” computer or way to get my creative juices out (i.e. the blog/pictures)
5. it was “rough” being in the U.S. for six months…that was long enough for my kiddos to get really settled in school and make friends and learn a new routine, just to uproot them again as soon as they were settled…makes you feel like the worst parent ever.
The list could go on, but I don’t want to focus on all the negative. I do know that God was with us. I trust that, as crappy as some of the things that happened were, that that is what God had for us in this season. I think Mg and I both are still processing through everything now that we are back. What did we learn? What will we do differently next time? Are we making sure to give ourselves and others grace if things didn’t go according to plan? Etc.
Rough. Yes, 2012 was “rough” overall, but we made it. God has seen us through. And He even gave us some moments of pure bliss in the midst of it all. Those are the things I want to focus on over the next few days. How we enjoyed time with our families. How we were blessed by old (and new) friends. How much we STILL love Texas at it’s core. Things like this help to dull the “roughness” of the year. And so with that…here we go…
Welcome back. I have missed your blogs so much. I feel like we were better in touch with you when you were in Portugal. We’re grateful for the short visit that we had with you. Let us know your snail mail address. All is well here.