Well it's true, we are moving back up to the Portland area! Although this time we are looking to settle on the North side just across the Washington border in Vancouver. (we lived on the west side in the Beaverton/Aloha area for 5 years before moving to Glide)
We have absolutely loved living just a mere mile away from John's parents in the beautiful country town of Glide and on the North Umpqua River. It breaks our hearts to leave this peaceful, gorgeous area and the amazing school with even more amazing teachers and staff. Leaving family will be even harder. Luckily we will still be a short 3 hour drive away, so you better bet we will be back quite often! What this surprising (for both you and us!) move brings is a new work opportunity for John that is greatly needed for his health. His current job has given him a great amount of experience and resume building opportunities. While he has truly enjoyed the friendships he has made in the company and has done great work for them, the work load that all falls on him for such a big company has really taken a toll on his already taxed system. He has had his worst flare ups in the past few months and very little free time. Stress for him has been at an all time high. At his recent set of scopes, the results were not good. The Dr. was concerned about the direction things were going and wants to work with him more closely. Being in a less stressful work environment and close once again to these outstanding OHSU Dr.'s is becoming a priority.
About a month ago this was weighing us down when an old work friend called John up out of the blue with an opportunity to come work for him back in the Portland area. After looking more into it, visiting their offices and after a great amount of prayer and fasting, we knew this was a huge answer to many many prayers. On top of that, the offer they ended up giving him was unbeatable. The increase in pay as well as a large signing bonus and paid moving company to pack and move us took away the worry of how to make this needed move happen. It has been a stressful, emotional, gut wrenching few weeks of figuring this all out, but we feel very confident and at peace with this decision. We actually really love the Portland area and have always heard high praises for Vancouver, where his new offices will be. He will have the opportunity to ride his bike to/from work more often, work out at the full gym they have in their building for the employees (its a huge/awesome company!) and have less on his shoulders with the larger tax team (right now he is a one man show for a good sized company). There are so many positives to helping John get healthier that we knew this was greatly needed and where we need to be.
Over the past few weeks there have been a few things I have had engrained into my heart. The First is that our God is a God of miracles and love. I absolutely know that this offer was not a coincidence, but a true answer to prayers. It wasn't what we ever would have thought would be the answer, but it just shows how truly God knows us and knows so so much more than we know. We think we know the right answers to solve our problems, but we can't see the big picture like He can. I have seen this several times in our married life. When I have finally stopped worrying about putting all the pieces together on my own and fully turned my heart and trust over to the Lord, that is when he has shown us great and amazing things we had no idea were possible. And it always makes so much more sense than anything we ever came up with! That is because he truly cares about what happens to us. He loves us individually with the greatest love imaginable. He knows the trials and challenges we will face and how important they will be in giving us experience. He asks a lot from each of us, but he also provides us with the strength and tools to overcome what we are asked of. He will always help when he can. The key part is trusting in Him and being able to take that leap of Faith to follow and obey. After we do that, He can do anything to make the right doors and opportunities available to us.
Another thing that I have come to realize is that sometimes "the plan" changes, and that's ok. It's important for us to realize that so we can be adaptable and open to change when change is necessary. It's a hard thing, but can open up so many other doors and opportunities we never knew were there. I know we were meant to be here over the last almost 2 years. Coming here provided immediate relief from our previous situation, many wonderful experiences and it strengthened relationships that will be with us forever. It was shorter than we expected, but after John's last test results, we understand why this change needs to happen now.
The last thing I want to mention is how great my testimony has grown in the power of prayer. There have been a few times where I have been overcome with worry and helplessness over John's health over this past year. He doesn't complain about feeling sick so most people see that he is happy and trim and naturally they think that he is healthy. What they don't see, and what John would never talk about, are all the crummy troubles associated with his autoimmune issues that have to be taken care of behind the scenes. Little things, like a special diet and muscle cramps that need to be worked out during the night, all the way up to big things like mal nutrition and blood loss from flare ups and all the fun that goes with that. Not to mention the worry of an imminent cancer diagnosis. After one particular rough night, I woke up early and felt this great need for more prayers than my own. I turned to my family and closest friends asking for a few extra prayers. They all responded immediately and even placed our names in one of our temples to receive prayers from within those sacred walls as well. I will never forget how much love I felt from them that day. By the time that day was over his flare up was almost gone and he regained his strength just a few days later. I know the power of prayer, especially in numbers, is real. I know that families are important in helping us get through this life. I know that our Heavenly Father wants us to find joy in this life. It will be hard, but there is so much good and joy to be found, even in the hardest of situations. I am grateful for this life we get to live.
I am going to miss hearing the sound of the river from our open front room windows and I am going to miss seeing the millions of stars that light up this country sky. We are all going to greatly miss the friends and family and the relationships that have been forged on our short little journey here, but we are grateful to have been given the opportunity to have them.
Now on to the next adventure of our lives! (you know, after finishing fixing up our current house, selling it, finding a place for John to stay a few months, finding him a new car, finding and closing on a new house, painting that one, and then finally moving all of our stuff in..... I apologize in advance if I lose my mind over the next few months of craziness!!!)
No comments:
Post a Comment