Share Four Somethings - December 2022

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For the final time in 2022, it's time to share Something Loved, Something Gleaned, Something Braved (or Saved) and Something Achieved. This delightful monthly link-up has been so much fun for me and I'm grateful for the connections made through it.

Something Loved

As I've shared before, this move has been hard. Other than our son and his family, we don't know anyone where we live now, and we are still searching for a church to call home. But even so, I must say that I'm loving the opportunity to kind of 'start from scratch' in decorating and making our townhouse feel like our home. We brought some furniture with us, but it's also been exciting to purchase new pieces. (Doing our part to keep IKEA in business!) For the first time in my life, I have an actual china cabinet to display my china. I have a brand new dresser - I don't think I've ever had a new one before. (We're still putting that together . . . ) I decorated the tree and put candles in my windows without worrying that a cat would knock things over. In a way, it's like when we first got married and had our first apartment, except now we can afford to get new furniture and just go buy a set of shelves or bath linens when we realize we need it. And once again, it's just the two of us. Don't get me wrong - I miss our kids and friends terribly! - but there's something to be said for the way we reconnect when there isn't anyone else to socialize with. All that said, we hope to feel at home at one of the churches we've tried out, to start making some connections with people, and to find some activities to get us out into the community occasionally.

Something Gleaned

From author Tessa Afshar's Facebook post:

There is an important prayer that I sometimes need to offer more persistently. "Jesus, I give you control."

I think over the past couple of years, many of us lost control over a lot of things in our daily lives. Now, we cling to it more tenaciously, like a wounded child with a safety blanket. We want to have our way about certain desires, about some plan, about some expectations. We we don't get to have what we want, our responses are bigger than they should be because they are the responses of a wounded child who is afraid the world is out of control again.

I think Jesus treats us kindly if this is where we are. Just as you have to acknowledge the validity of the emotions in a child with a tantrum, he acknowledges our emotion. But kindness doesn't mean that he lets us just settle more deeply into having control. He doesn't let us have our way, because that doesn't heal the soul. It just deepens the wound, even if in the moment getting what we want feels more reassuring.

God's point of view is often much longer than ours. Most of us lean into the now. We want comfort for this moment. But the Father often makes choices that are uncomfortable in the now because he knows they are healing for our future.

Something Braved or Something Saved

Christmas shopping. By myself. At the last minute. In an unfamiliar city. I actually don't know if that's foolish or brave, but my point is that I got it done, despite my anxiety about driving in the city. Now, off to wrap the gifts!

Something Achieved

I'm still a bit surprised, in a way, that I've managed this move and all that goes with it, and haven't completely fallen apart. This past Sunday I even went to church by myself, since my husband wasn't feeling well. Yesterday I booked my plane ticket back here after New Years, and that feels like an achievement also - I'll be able to stay with the kids for an extra week and have some time to spend with friends as well.

I've also achieved a full year of sharing four somethings each month (I think), and I was disappointed to learn that the link-up would not be continuing. But I understand that sometimes it's time to move on to the next adventure, even in the blog world. Then upon linking up this post, I discovered that Share Four Somethings will continue, but with a new hostess and prompts. Yay! Blessings to all who have been kind enough to visit and comment on my posts this year, and I hope you all have a wonderful holiday season and a very prosperous New Year!

In 2023, Share Four Somethings will continue with a new hostess! Jennifer at All4Boys.blogspot.com will host on the last Saturday of each month.

This post will be linked at Share Four Somethings hosted by HeatherGerwing.com

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