Tag: #freshstart

Bénisse Cette Maison

Letting go of what is comfortable. Even though I knew there was more, where I stood felt okay, and it was easy. There wasn’t anything wrong, except my heart wanted more.

2017 was a year of following my heart, and believe me, my heart and mind were conflicted. What was logical thinking, didn’t feed my heart, and when my heart soared, my mind told me I was bonkers. It was time to set my heart free.

Richard Rohr says, “Houses are meant to move out of”.

I pondered that quote for what seemed like a long time, until it took root in my heart. My mind kept pointing out all the positive aspects of where we were living, but my heart wasn’t happy. The thought of moving was uncomfortable. We had lived in a country setting for a few years, and it was peaceful. No complaints, unless you asked my heart.

I mentioned that quote to a man in our community, and he was flabbergasted! He quickly opposed it, and said, “Oh No! Houses are meant to be lived in, and filled with family and friends!” I was living in my house, but it wasn’t filled with family and friends. They lived an hour away. For two years, my daughter had been driving an hour each way, every weekend to see her Dad. She was tired.

A couple of friends came to visit, and showed me what my heart was missing. Connection, and love in real-time.

This house had it’s season, and was meant to move out of.

I came across a picture of our porch, right after moving in.

before
6/2015

We had been in this house less than a year, when I found out I had Breast Cancer. My Breast Cancer journey was in 2016, so 2017 was a year of healing, growing, and discovering the woman Cancer left behind. I let go of a lot last year, which I will slowly write about, but there were some major heart-strings tied to this little country home.

This home was perfect for healing, and offered privacy.

Here is the last picture taken of that little house of healing.

after
11/29/2017

My daughter and I have moved away from country living.

We spent the month of December packing up everything except the Christmas tree. On January 2nd, we moved into our new house. It’s been a week now, and it feels like home.

blessthishome
Bless this home.
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Permission To Move

Did you enjoy playing Simon Says as a kid? Or red light green light? I did. It wasn’t so much as someone telling me what to do, as it was the anticipation of what that may be. The anticipation of the move was exciting. We have lost that somewhere along the way. Now people dread moving and make it sound horrendous. Well, I got news for ya.

Get good at moving.

Ten years ago, when we lost our home to foreclosure, I thought I would die. It was the hardest thing for me to accept and I got mad at God for allowing it to happen. I couldn’t blame God, I knew we were living above our means. That was the beginning of trusting God for every move.

I told myself right then, I would not own a house again. I couldn’t go through the pain of having something that substantial that could be lost overnight. Every two years, since the foreclosure, I have rented houses. You can rent a home with a year lease almost anywhere nowadays.

When I left my marriage, it didn’t matter to me where I lived. It had to be close enough for my ex to see our daughter, but other than that, I was open. God led us to a small home on 40 acres in McDade, Texas.

I had never heard of it, but was willing to go check it out. Fell in love with it, loaded up a U-Haul and made it our home. We knew no one and it was literally a fresh start. I remember friends asking me why we moved to McDade. There was no reason. It’s just where God led us and we trust Him.

December of last year, my daughter and I sat down and talked about wanting a little bit larger home. We had been going to the Laundromat for over a year and a washer and dryer would be like heaven for us. The house we were in didn’t have room for a washer and dryer, so we kept a grateful heart for the Laundromat and got it down to a science.

Three months later, the house we are in now appeared.

We went to go look at it and saw a clothesline in the backyard. It was in another small town on 5 acres of fenced in property. The house had everything on our list, including a new washer and dryer. God knew our hearts and then came the willingness. People ask why we moved to this town and I have no clue. God was blessing us for our faithfulness and He wanted to see how fast I could move.

Do you love your life? God wants us to.

Whatever is holding you back from living the life of your dreams, you need to look at that and see which is more important. It doesn’t take money. I was a single Mom with no credit and a part time job the first time we moved. God will place the right people in your path to rent from. People believe it takes so much to move, when really it takes less. Simplify your belongings. Keep what you love and be willing to make a move.