Fast forward to 2014 and 2015

So, we moved churches in 2013. Fast forward to 2014.

Let me sum up. There are two states in the nation that I heard bad things about as a child from grown-ups around me - Texas and Florida. I wanted nothing to do with anything that had to do with those states.

I married a man from Texas - so the moral of the story is several fold:
Your preconceptions can be misplaced.
God can and will surprise you because He has a sense of humor that way.
Never say never.

In our marriage, Patrick has has crazy whims now and then. Let's move to Texas. No. Let's move to Alaska! No. (though I admit I was slightly on board with this for a few months) Let's move to Hawaii. Um, no. Let's move to an island in the Bahamas. No. Let's move to Israel! No!

Sometimes, I mean, we like each other, but we can't even agree on where to eat or what movie to watch. So if we agree on something big at the same time, it can be a huge marriage moment. :)

Then in the summer of 2014 we both somehow came to the agreement that moving to Florida would be a good idea. Helllo! What??? I was going to live and die in Colorado people. Calls to heaven from Colorado Springs are local calls, ya know what I'm saying???

We both felt Florida. We tempted to open doors for Arkansas - but neither of us were 'feeling' that. It was between Tallahassee and Tampa.

Our family talked us out of it in a hot Florida minute. (okay, not really, it took months, but our family talked us out of it.)

We tried to talk my mom, his parents, my brother, his sister into moving there with us. I didn't even try to talk my sister into it though. Her husband and her were rooted here. His job, the kids school, their amazing house, their church.... they wouldn't move I knew, but they knew of our 'crazy plans'.

We let it go - Florida is HOT, our parents are getting older, Florida has bugs, they would miss the grandkids, Florida has crocodiles,we were breaking their hearts, Florida has snakes,.....etc, etc, etc. Fine, fine, fine. It's great here... we'll stay. And they all rejoiced our temporary insanity was over. We all lived happily ever after. The end. (but it wasn't)

2015:
I was driving with the kids when my sister called asking for prayer about her husbands job. (Florida had crept back on the table for Patrick and I, but we weren't being super pushy about it this time... just planning a trip there to explore). So, she is asking for prayer, and in typical personal fashion, I crack a joke about, "What if you have to move to a warmer climate....???" Then I promise to be serious and pray for reals.... and we hang up.

Not 5 minutes later, she calls back and says, "You'll never guess what he (her hubs) just said to me on the phone!! Tampa!"

The rest of the conversation was a blur. They weren't moving there -it was just a possibility. Whoa. So many thoughts flying through my head. Out of the ENTIRE country, Tampa is on the docket??? No where else in the country. Just ...Tampa. You gotta be kidding me.

They moved there.

The ONE person in the family I never tried to persuade, or had hopes of moving there - moved there.
Enter: a vast range of emotions.
I thought WE were supposed to move there.
Maybe my heart was just getting prepared to 'lose' her. (we lived 15 mins from each other)
I was happy for her.
I was sad for me.
I was confused.
I was hopeful. (that we'd end up there together)
I was .... all these at the SAME TIME. For months.
I tried to be supportive....and happy. Not sure I pulled that off. Sorry sis.

I had this word of Florida for this other family long before I'd even considered moving anywhere. Then, we consider going to Florida and instead my sister goes there. Talk about a mix of emotions. I wasn't jealous - it looked hard and painful. I felt left out, except, I didn't. It looked hard and painful. ;)

Life is interesting - I'll give it that. And I just know that when it seems like other people around you are leaving, or getting a promotion, or that audition, or that thing you wanted...
or maybe you didn't actually want anything, but you just feel like your life isn't going anywhere particular.... just hang in there and know that God has a plan.