There is so much to write about…I don’t even know where to start. You’re going to have to forgive me because I have so much to download that it may not even make sense sometimes. We are all still reeling from all that has occurred.
We have worked ridiculously long and hard in the last three days (and more) and have ended each day with being completely spent. All of this work has been to let go of our lives as we know them and step onto a new path that can only be walked if God shows up. This is the life we are pursuing…a life where our faith will be worked in a way like it never has before. I have already seen changes in the last few days where I am becoming more desperate for Him to make the next move. As crazy as it sounds, this is where I want to be.
Before we talk about where we are navigating to, take a moment to enjoy an overview of our last few days.
Friday, December 6 (and a few preceding events):
We wake up in our house on a mattress only and our kids have been on the floor of their rooms in sleeping bags for days. The previous week has been spent putting things in boxes and having our two youngest ones pull everything back out again. Due to an injury at work (that is another story), I have been limited and our scheduled move with all our furniture only happened because a great friend recruited a group of guys to come make it happen. I am also considering the fact that I have put my two-week notice at a firefighting/paramedic job that I’ve worked very hard to obtain and heading toward something with no guaranteed income. My wife has been working tirelessly to prepare to leave the nicest home she has ever lived in knowing very little about our future. In fact, I’ve been amazed every day to watch someone not just place her home on the altar of sacrifice–but clean it, paint it, make little repairs, and make sure it looks better than any home we’ve moved into for the next people coming in. Because of our focus on the move, the kids have been ill-supervised and the sibling rivalry has been at an all-time high. Just a little stressful.
A significant thing to mention:
Because Asher found a light up ice cube in one of the boxes, he placed it in the toilet and gave it a good flush early in the week. At night, the toilet has had a nice red glow and has been a great way of giving kids nightmares when they wake up to go to the bathroom. The frequent, violent plunging episodes made no impact on the evil red glow and I just didn’t have time to deal with it. On Wednesday, when we sat down to a very late and quiet dinner, Phoebe calmly stated half-way through her meal that water was “spilling out of the potty.” When I saw the toilet and the water gushing out, I think every child in the family had decided to make a “deposit” causing the excrement and glowing cube to have the showdown of the century (the cube won).
As I was up until the wee hours of the morning standing in horridly stinky water, taking the entire toliet apart, and trying to keep my cool, I heard a whisper in my mind. “Jordan, I know you don’t like this even when it’s for your own family, but I need you to be ready to humble yourself to do this level of work for others to reach them for Me.” Ok, God. I’m listening.
Saturday, December 7:
We worked all day long to finish the last minute details and take the last loads of boxes to storage. It was an overwhelming day and fortunately, we were working so hard that it was a distraction from the fact that we were leaving a home of so many good memories as we take this next step.
I would just like to note that this day required more doodie. Because of no nearby facilities, I had to pull out a travel potty for my 3 year old and let her have at it. Nothing like being in a storage unit with the sounds of grunts behind you. Then comes the problem of what to do with the “waste.” My best option was to put the travel potty on top of the car as I cruised it (slowly) to a nearby office where I had to ask to flush it. Nothing but classy for this family.
This was the day we looked at our house and gave it a proper goodbye as we went to made our way to our temporary home for a couple of weeks. As I held my wife, we thought of all the special events that occurred in this home and shed a few tears. Another really important moment was seeing my wife’s pain of leaving her home and having her look at me and say, “I trust you.” She had the option of saying a lot muckier things, but this is what she chose. Whoa.
Sunday, December 8:
Because of a friend who works for a big hotel company, we were able to find temporary housing at a nearby resort (keep reading before you think of luxury). After getting all our totes and boxes loaded into our room (don’t forget all the stuff we need for Sy’s therapy), we found that our room had ants everywhere. In the kitchen, in the bathroom, and in the bed. Along with this and a few other pretty nasty housekeeping issues, we were forced by the staff to move to another room (still dirty, but no ants as of yet). This may sound easy, but moving two adults and four kids one time was absolutely nuts. A day that we hoped to spend getting some amount of rest required an additional move that we didn’t plan for. Also trying to make a move using one of those stupid luggage carts made me want to set it on fire and leave it in the parking lot.
Along with all of this, we also had the horror of our baby sneaking out the door and falling down a set of concrete stairs on the fourth floor of this resort. We had a real scare as we found Asher laying face down and motionless at the bottom of the stairs. It appeared that his cute face had taken most of the blow. After a good assessment, we realized he was okay and that he was just as worn out as the rest of us at this point.
So what path are we jumping on that’s causing all of this fun?
I need to do another longer post to give all the details, but here’s the preview:
1. We have decided to step back into the life of missions we have felt called to and do not want to live another day with any regret. God has been speaking to us clearly and it is time to take the next step toward using the gifts He has given us.
2. Sy’s story has put us in a place to take the story of healing to an international level and reach those who really need it. Although taking Sy overseas is not an option right now with his therapy, we have connected with an organization that will help open the next set of doors to help people in a “groovy, green, and gunk-free Gerson” kind of way.
3. Because of our need to find a more permanent solution for Sy’s produce needs, we will be partnering with a local farm to develop a program for self-sustainable space saving produce gardens (aquaponics) that will allow us to not only to get what we need, but help people locally, nationally, and internationally.
4. In order to do all that we’ve mentioned above, we are walking away from the life we know to enter into some serious international training for the next 6 months. This starts in January and it will have a whole new set of posts to bring you.
I’m really tired right now and you’re probably tired of reading. Let’s pick this up again really soon, okay?
Sleepily Yours,
Jordan*
