A Place for Us

“Surely goodness and love shall follow me all the days of my life, and I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever.” *

It’s hard to believe that on Thursday, January 26^th 2017, Al and I were watching a moving van back down the long driveway of our home in the rural town of Springville, California after having lived there for thirty years. We were pulling up roots and relocating to a new state…or maybe it was all just a dream…

Now three years later here we are, living in an urban suburb of Detroit less than fifteen minutes away from our daughter and her family. That one sentence describes a couple of major changes for these two septuagenarians. The first change was moving to the big city. We are still getting used to the fast paced life style here, as well the noise, traffic, frenetic drivers and different rules of the road.         

Being close to family was the main reason why we moved. Reconnecting with our daughter, son-in-law and four grandkids has been a wonderful blessing. In fact, reconnecting isn’t really the best word to use. After all of these years of living in another state, a better way to put it would be getting to know them. That has happened as we have become fully immersed in their lives, sharing their ups and downs as they have shared ours.

For someone who was unable to have children of her own and had finally accepted the fact that hers would be a family of two, not counting several dogs and cats through the years, it has been pure joy!  

Now I haven’t mentioned the adjustment to the weather here. If you ask us about the weather any other time of the year, we’ll respond enthusiastically. Summer? I grew up in Bakersfield, California. When people are complaining about the heat during the summer here in Michigan, I’m just getting around to taking off my coat!

Winters are very tough though, maybe even harder because we’re at that age when muscles and joints ache in the cold and staying well is a challenge. For outdoors people, the idea of being confined in the house all winter isn’t appealing.

On New Year’s morning, we joined a group of people on a 5K walk around a nearby cemetery. Even though we were dressed for an arctic blizzard, Al picked up a bad cough that developed into bronchitis. He claims that one of the main reasons he left the state in the early ‘70’s and headed to California was because of getting sick every winter.

But hey, like I mentioned before, we didn’t move here for the weather. As one dear friend keeps reminding us, “It’s all about family!” And she is right!

We left behind the Sierra Nevada mountains for the Great Lakes and hundreds of smaller ones. It has been fun exploring the state with friends and family. In fact, Al and I are looking forward to a tour of the Isle Royale National Park in Lake Superior for a week in June. There are many great places to visit here and beautiful sights to see.

I guess it all boils down to being happy where God has led us at this present time and realizing that this earth is a temporary home. We humans are only here for a comparatively short time.

If that is hard to comprehend, make sure that you visit Sequoia National Park in California, close to our former home in Springville, and try wrapping your arms around a Giant Sequoia tree. Then look up! Many of the trees in the park are over 2,000 years old, as evidenced by their giant trunks and huge stature. Talk about feeling small and fragile!

With the Lord as our shepherd, Al and I have managed to face the challenges and adjust to the changes (well, most of them) of the past three years. He has blessed us and is blessing us tremendously. The promise of dwelling with Him in His house forever sustains us in this life. We look forward to the future with joy!

“You have made known to me the path of life; you will fill me with joy in your presence, with eternal pleasures at your right hand.” Psalm 16:11 NIV

*Psalm 23:6 NIV

 

out of one house

and into another!