Full-Circle

This week has been a crazy whirl-wind of emotions: solidifying plans, adjusting to changes, finding closure from this Ohio-life, and yes, still packing.

This is the last week in our current place. This town home has been our spot since week-2 of a nearly 4-year marriage.

I remember loading up my bedroom after the wedding – almost everything I owned – into the back of my father-in-law’s enclosed truck and making the 1.5 hour drive to Stow in my silver Grand Am. And then moving in: I could have burst with excitement: It was OUR home. Mine and Nathan’s. The start of us carving out a life together. The Reid’s.

I remember being so grateful at how things had panned out: Nate working in Hudson and going to school in Kent, me going to school in Akron (1 of 4 colleges in Ohio where I could major in Social Work) – and Stow, our new city, right in the middle of them. A hubbub perfectly placed. We met wonderful people at a church down the street and gave a hardy effort to make a garden out of two small plots out back.

{Garden Before & After Spring 2011}

O how He must of planned all this from the beginning.

So now with the windows open, a 5-month old sleeping, strapped to my back (gosh, I love my Kinderpack!), and my husband working upstairs, I pack our belongs back into boxes and reflect on all He’s done.

Speaking of reflections: Yesterday I met up with a friend for lunch.

{This girl is the kind of person everyone hopes to have in their lives: full of encouragement, hope, and love for Jesus. After a season of feeling so alone, her friendship is like a breath of fresh air: intent on making the most of her marriage, passionate about social work and crunchy living, we share a lot of similar interests.}

After sharing with her that it seems that now, more than ever, Nathan and I are on the same page. I got chills as she reminded me that, during a lunch-date while I was still pregnant I had confided in her that Nathan and I were in a rough patch and “on different pages.” Whoa. He brings everything full circle.

Morgan, never forget how important it is to keep pressing, keep investing, and watch as He breathes new life into your efforts.

O Jesus this is my prayer: as I pack these boxes and my heart is filled once again with wonder, excitement, and hope – I ask that You breathe Yourself into every nook and cranny of my life, into every corner of this move and settling down into a new city. Don’t let me use up this life for myself – seeking my own comfort and entertainment.

My flesh fights it but I *want to* yearn to be poured out for You:

Poured out for my husband; Respecting and serving him when I’d honestly rather not.
Poured out for my daughter: soothing, entertaining, and choosing her when my whole being aches to seek my wants instead.
Poured out for my neighbors: those people it’s so easy to ignore, hurting faces I wish I could just wipe from my memory; Those angry, impatient, tired, cruel, dilly-dalleying-when-I-have-things-to-get-done souls that You long to pull close.

Pour me out Jesus. Breathe life into my fish-and-loaves efforts, bringing it all full circle for Your enjoyment and fame. For the glory and praise of who You are.  Worthy in every way.

Worthy of my discomfort.
my time.
my dreams.
my “rathers” and my “rather-nots.”

By You, Through You, For You,

Morgan (loves to) Reid