Between March of 2020 and October of 2022, we moved 4 times. Our beautiful historic home built in 1912 sold so quickly that we jumped into a rental before finding and moving into the house I thought we’d stay in forever. Then life went crazy, and we quite hurriedly moved a couple hours away, jumped into another rental before landing where we are now. Excluding the first move where we had loads of help with the home-shifting, Kyle and I did the majority of the other moves by ourselves (minus the piano, 2,000 pound table, and that trip to Alva in Guinevere), while our families helped by taking our kiddos.
When we bought a couch off of a friend who lived three houses from us, we carried it down the road. When our first rental was one block away from the house we bought, we carried our trampoline down the alley. When I want to rearrange a room and Kyle’s working, I get creative and move furniture by myself. Once I carried a recliner out of my home, down some porch stairs, and to my curb alone.
I’ve thrown my back out twice. The first time, I was 19 and leaned over to pick up a handful of leaves. The second time I was 36, sitting down, and sewing a quilt. Yes, I threw out my back quilting. It could have also been a delayed reaction from tweaking my neck the night before.
Me: “Baby, I need you to engage with me.” After sitting in a house alone all day.
Kyle: “What do you want to do? Wrestle?
Me: (Hops on the floor.)
Kyle: “You’re not gonna warm up?”
Me: (Proceeds to laugh hysterically and wrestle with my husband for the next 10 minutes.)
Not really sure what type of funky wrestling magic they taught him at the Academy, but it worked as he was, without a doubt, triumphant.
Flashback to the leaves; they might have weighed a solid two ounces. Which was probably the equivalent to the part of the quilt I picked up before feeling a sharp pain take over my body.
When Malachi was maybe three we were on a walk when we saw a garage sale a few blocks from our house. He begged to buy something, but luckily, since I try to avoid bringing more junk into my home, I didn’t have my wallet and we were on foot. Malachi found some change that added up to no more $1.23 in the back of J’s Radio Flyer tricycle and asked if he could buy a little camo recliner. Me, fully expecting the dusty recliner to cost at least two or three dollars, I said sure. This way the garage sale host could be like sorry little dude it’s out of your budget and then I’d be like bummer, but still remain the good mom!
However, he was a pretty handsome three-year-old, always wore a backwards hat, and apparently the lady was a sucker for cute kids and was sick of her junk because the asking price for the chair was one dollar and that, unfortunately, fit Malachi’s budget.
I grabbed the recliner trying to decide how to carry it. Out in front was awkward, with Haddi was awkward, so I threw it up on top of my head thinking about those women in foreign countries who carry the water they just retrieved from a well on their head or shoulders. I balanced it on my head for three blocks as we walked home. Along the way, if my head needed a break, I’d plop it down and carry it a different way for about two seconds before realizing on top of my head was easier than anything else.
This day was a nice reminder that it’s not the weight we carry, but how we carry it that matters. How we position ourselves with the weight. I made it the long three blocks to our house, but by the time we got close, it was heavy, I was over it, and glad I didn’t have to go much further. If I would have, I would’ve been calling Kyle to take it off my hands…head.
With life, it’s not just a three block journey. It’s normally much further. During the trek are we awkwardly trying to lug our pasts around, our current dream-struggles, our mess, our chaos, our hurt, heartache, burdens, sin, shame, guilt; or are we carrying it with faith straight to the feet of Jesus knowing that He is able to do more than we ask or imagine (Ephesians 3:20).
He says, “Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light” (Matthew 11:28-30).
How do you carry it? Is it working? Remember, He is able to make a way when there seems to be no way.
Speaking of yokes, the egg I started boiling 48 minutes ago just exploded.
Bye friends! 🙂