Away We Go!

The Lord keeps you from all harm and watches over your life. The Lord keeps watch over you as you come and go, both now and forever.

Psalms 121:7–8

After a month of wrapping things up and getting accustomed to our new home, we are officially hitting the road! We have thoroughly enjoyed our final month in the Pittsburgh area, and we are feeling an enormous mix of emotions as we head off on our adventure. While saying “see you later” to our family and friends has been challenging, we are so incredibly excited for the road ahead.

A month ago, we had grand plans to get all the loose ends tied up nice and neat before we actually hit the road. As with so many things in life, many of the things we thought would be easy were really really hard, and the things we thought would be hard were actually pretty easy. And then there are all the things we had not thought of that popped up along the way.

We are incredibly grateful for the time we have had with our families and friends and all the support and love they have shown us. From watching Little Bird so Will and I could tackle some big tasks, to receiving all of our Amazon orders, to just dropping by to say hello and see Cate, we have felt so much love. We know our decision to make this huge change in our life has rippling effects on those who love us and yet the encouragement and help we have received has been more than we could have imagined.

The reasons for us making this huge leap of faith and change in our lifestyle have shown themselves repeatedly over the past month and I know will continue to be evident in everything we do. From being reminded of the brevity of life and the fleetingness of opportunity, to watching Little Bird point in awe at toads and rabbits as they hop through our campsite, to pulling out the bird book during dinner to identify birds outside our window, to simply sitting by the fire and enjoying a slower pace. Knowing that these are things that have become part of our every day rather than a special getaway is truly a remarkable feeling.

The first leg of our journey takes us into the Northeast. Due to COVID rules and regulations, we had to forego visiting Maine for the time being. We have thoroughly researched and kept on top of the changing state requirements for quarantining and state-to-state travel. As we know things are continually in flux, our plans are tentative at best. Our current plan takes us into early October and through at least 7 states. Even being stationary for the past month, we have had many instances of stopping in our tracks, looking at each other, and saying “can you actually believe we are doing this?” We feel blessed to have this opportunity and to have not been scared to act on it. In just over 4 months, we have turned a crazy idea into a new and amazing reality. What will the next 4 months hold?

Prayer for Safe Travel

Dear God, Please protect us on the journey we are about to take. Support us with Your strength and grace when we are weary. Help us to be mindful of Your presence and love in times of stress and guide us to make our time together meaningful and memorable.
Amen.

Source: Guideposts.org