Life is full of changes. Change can be good. Change can also be difficult. Change can be VERY difficult for a Special Needs Child – and that makes it double fold on the family.
It seems we just got through moving from Anaheim to here and now, change has hit us again. As in Homer, Alaska!!! Now quick – when you think of Alaska, what do you think of? I always thought of snow, snow and more snow. Oh, and for a variety, add in some ice! Amazingly enough, Homer Alaska is very different. About six months out of the year it is green, green and more green! *smile*
With Dave out of work for the past nine months, when Dave was asked to go up to Homer and work for just two weeks to get a certain job done, we said yes! So off Dave went this past September. It was horrid at home. Ian started having meltdowns again and I was really not dealing well with it all. Home was a tough, unhappy place to be. On the other hand, Dave was up in Alaska having a great time!
While talking with my almost 12 year old daughter, she looked at me and said, “Mom, I think you are jealous of dad right now.” Hmmm, what was that verse: ‘Out of the mouth of babes’. She was right. I was jealous. Dave was having a great time and I was dealing with daily melt downs, stupid car break downs and just general tough times.
This whole time, my mind was made up; I was NOT going to be forced to move somewhere that I didn’t want to move. I hate the snow, I’m terrified to drive on ice and I never, ever want to go LIVE in the snow! Then God did something HUGE in my life. I have to be one of the world’s most stubborn people and when my mind is made up – nothing changes it. But this time God did. He softened my heart to just listen and hear with an open heart. What I heard brought tears to my eyes.
The owners that Dave would work for up there are wonderful Godly people. They don’t just spout off words – they live Godly lives. As a human, that’s hard. As business owners, that’s nearly impossible! Yet these two have truly committed their lives and their business to God. Wow! What a concept.
The people up there are very nice and friendly. There are many churches up there, but one of them is truly special. It has a wonderful pastor. Dave said walking in there felt like … ‘oh, now I’m home’. (That’s HUGE for Dave)
Reality check is that there is no such thing as Shangri-La. I’m sure there will be tough times, but if God puts us up there, God will see us through the tough times too!
Pray for us as we go through all our stuff and start the packing process. Even if we don’t end up going to Alaska, we’ll be moving from here. We don’t have any dates as of yet, but the next few months will be extremely busy.
(from 11-02-08)