Settled

I think I'm on the brink of ending one of the most unsettled years of my life to date.

Last September I moved out of my parent's house and into my friend, Claire's, house as her hubby was deployed to Iraq. Mandy and I took up residency in her fairly new home and two empty bedrooms so that she wouldn't have to spend a year by herself. It really was great for all the parties involved.

However, when Russel was able to come home for weekends, Thanksgiving, for leave or what not, clearly Mandy and I exited their humble abode to stay with our parent's. Obviously, this was by choice. Need I even state how awkward that could have been?

After a few months of finally getting into a routine, May fell upon us.

May means the start of summer, which means all routines are thrown out the door and my crazy life begins.

I left for Florida with my youth group for camp the second week of June and the morning after Russell arrived home for his leave for a little over two weeks.

When I returned home from Florida, since he was still in the states, I went straight to my parent's house to spend a few weeks there.

After he left, I resumed my residency in her home at then very end of June.

That is until I left for Colorado, a few days later. Vacation was the theme of this week and it was fabulous.

When I returned from Colorado, close to the middle of July, I spent one week at Claire's house, then left for Galveston with our Middle School group for their mission trip the last week of July. Talk about unsettled, our living conditions were below par, which makes me grateful for my living conditions.

I spent one night extra in Galveston with a few girlfriends, then came home, and literally unpacked and repacked all so that I could head to Belize for eight days with our High School students the first week of August.

In the mean time, Russell had been released to come home for good at the end of July, which meant that I was to move out when I returned home from Belize.

We got home on a Sunday night from Belize, and Monday morning, with energy I didn't know I had, I went to Claire's and packed up as much as I could of my bedroom to move back in with my parent's.

I knew that living with my parent's again was going to be temporary, so I didn't do much to my room. Honestly, it would be embarrassing to tell you how long I lived out of a suitcase.

To say I was unmotivated would be an understatement.

These last two weeks I actually house and dog sat for a couple in our church which meant that I was living in yet another place. Can I just say that I feel like I conquered the world? I'm typically not a girl that likes to be alone all the time, and especially at night, but I did it! And I survived! Yes, it got lonely every now and then and I craved people time, but thankfully, I had a few friends that kept me company and I was on a street where I new half the block it felt like. Does this mean I'll ever consider living alone? Um, no. I'm not that girl! Ha!

During all this transition, a few friends of mine had been talking about living together and we decided to shoot for an October move-in date. I was beyond thrilled because more than anything, I was ready to be settled.

The Lord is so good and in His perfect timing, we found the perfect apartment that we moved into yesterday. Of course, I'm currently writing this from my bed at my parents house because my bed at the apartment is lacking sheets, but come tomorrow, I'm there for good.

All that to say, this year I've not felt like myself. I think that's a tough thing about being single. You never know what's next, or where you'll live next. But then again, being married you could move around just as much.

I'm so ready to call a place my own. I'm so ready for a routine. I'm so ready to have a sanctuary where I can relax. I'm so ready to feel like myself again.

Between all the personal stuff I've had going on and all that's gone on and is coming in ministry, I've been a little overwhelmed. It's just a lot and it's stressful! The knots in my back would agree. But I think I'm starting to see the light at the end of the tunnel and I'm so thankful.

No, my life won't slow down to a super slow speed. Not in this season anyway. No, ministry doesn't get a big break. No, I'm not guaranteed to be in this apartment for a long time, not even until I get married. But it's a place I can call my own. A place I can call home. A place I can stay. A place I know I'll be for a least a year, God willing, and hopefully longer.

Just thinking about it makes me want to cry. Maybe that's just because I'm exhausted from moving. But either way, I'm happy.

I'm starting to feel settled again. Thank you, Jesus!