My husband and I recently made a big decision. When I say big I mean life changing and far outside of the original plan. Yeah that plan again… my plan, our plan. We decided that we are being led to move to another state for a job opportunity that will provide not only financial improvements for our family but invaluable life experiences that we will all benefit from. It is going to be an amazing adventure.

So what is the big deal right? People move all the time, especially when your home town is also home to a large marine corps base. We see people come and go frequently, in fact my husband is the son of a retired marine and moving was commonplace in his childhood. Well one reason it is a big deal is that I have never moved. In a town where people are “from everywhere” I am from here, a true local. If you go back far enough I am pretty sure you’ll see that my people simply got off the boat and never strayed too far. Aside from college, where I attended a school a whole 70 miles away, this has been home.  We live on a family farm complete with dirt roads, old equipment, and fields. Clubfoot Creek runs alongside of the farm and my family is next door, and the next door, and the next door after that.  

Another reason this is a big deal is that my husband is the local high school football coach. The same school where we met and started dating nearly 20 years ago. Caleb had always wanted to be the head coach at Havelock ever since he was 15. It was dream come true when it happened. Our plan was to build a house on the farm and he was going to coach there forever. So our moving was not only a surprise to my family but the community as well. I jokingly told my husband that “normal” people just let their family and friends know they are moving and send a new address to them when they get there, but a football family with local ties has far more people to “answer too.” 

We don’t mind offering the explanation for our choice to those who want to hear it because we love the community and the last thing we want to do is make the people in it feel like our time here and feelings for this town have been untrue. Most people have been wonderfully supportive but the negative, if we let it, can seem louder than the positive at times.

One thing we have learned in the last couple seasons of life is that we might have a plan but sometimes we have to put our plan aside and follow God’s plan. We are called to be obedient. My husband teaches his players about football of course, but he teaches them about life as well. He teaches them that they are to take care of their family, to do the right thing, and to make decisions that are hard and sometimes unpopular. This lesson is being taught off the field right now by my husband’s actions and my heart is overwhelmed by the notes and messages he has received from his players stating this.

We are excited about the next phase of life. We are welcoming an opportunity for growth in our family and in our personal lives as well.

We are happy…

But

We are also sad.

It is hard to leave home.

We find it difficult to say goodbye and to explain.

There is pain in the unsupportive.

There is nervousness in the new.

There is some fear in the unknown.

There is anticipation and questions.

Basically there are all the emotions at once.

But there is also peace.

Peace that we are doing the right thing. Peace that while we did not plan this, God did. Peace that there is a reason we are moving to where we are moving. Peace that we will grow and learn. Peace that we are listening to His plan for us right now. Peace that we prayed for. Peace in that I prayed for doors to open, and just as important, for doors to close. It is now evident that this has been in His plan for a while.

So like we have told our children right now, It’s ok to feel all the emotions. It is ok to be happy and sad, excited and nervous. It’s ok to feel it all and to still trust His plan. Its ok to do this at 5 and 7 years old and even 35 years old.

My friend, if you are also in the season of all the emotions please know it is ok, you can feel them all. You should acknowledge them, don’t fight them, press into them, they are part of the process and there is peace in accepting that some things in life are both happy and sad.