E is for Everything Must Go!

It has been a long time since we last updated the blog.  The best excuse we have is that we were very busy in preparing for our move to Dallas.  We had a lot of things to do around our house, many people to visit with, and among many other things, we had to liquidate most of our belongings.   Separating ourselves from "our stuff" proved very difficult to do.  There was the challenge of selling our things which involved a lot of time on Craig's List and answering a lot of phone calls.  But the hardest part was letting it all go.

"Stuff" causes some interesting reactions.  Sometimes we're sentimental about "stuff."  Sometimes our "stuff" makes us feel secure.  Sometimes our "stuff" makes us feel prepared to take on any situation in life.  But in the last two months, we had some hard lessons to learn about how these responses are rather hollow.  Sentiments fade, security is an illusion, and preparedness is just a facade for the insecurities that reside deep within ourselves.

Simply put, we had to learn that if we are who we say we are, then our security has to be in Christ and nowhere else.  God was certainly exposing our hypocrisy and giving us tough love.  But we got through it and managed to get our family of five reduced to what we could fit along with ourselves in two mini-vans with a small trailer.

We arrived in Dallas on the 31st of December, worn out from the weeks of preparation.  But we're thrilled to have made it through the next step.  Our time in Dallas will be about a year and we look forward to updating you all in the "G" entry about the classes we are taking in preparation for our work in Cameroon.  Until next time, blessings.