Old World, New World

Aubrey and Abby, precious new friends

Back in October, Andy and I attended a retreat for people returning from overseas. It was a weekend long getaway at the beach intended to help us transition back to life in the US. It was really helpful to process to be with others making the same big move and to reflect on the gravity of our move as well as get some helpful insight on how to make the transition go as smoothly as possible.

One of the activities they had us do was create an "Old World, New World" book. The first few pages of the book were about our "Old World" (for us that is China). Each page had a different aspect of our old world written on the top-friends, places, activities. They had us draw or write on each page. The room was electric while each family worked on filling out places and people from their old world. It was like a piece of us came alive again! Andy and I enjoyed listing all our friends from China. We drew a picture of the market where fresh veggies were daily piled and sold for practically nothing. We loved drawing pictures of the activities we were a part of. It felt so good to go back for just a few minutes to "that life."

Then they had us flip the pages to our "New World" (for us that is Florida). We were to repeat the same activity-this time listing places, people, and activities from our new world. The room grew quiet and somber. Most every one's pages were stark white with a few words scattered here and there, quite a contrast to the previous pages overflowing with people and places we love. We were thankful to write our families names and a few friends here in the US, but most of them do not live close by. They reminded us that this process of starting over takes time. There's so much to cherish from our old world and our new world feels empty right now. But it won't forever.

As we've closed out this first year of living back in the US, I've been thinking a lot about how God is filling our "New World" pages. He's coloring them in ways I did not ask and could not have even imagined. That's one thing I really like about moving and starting over. I have an awareness of my needs and my dependence on God to provide for me that I could not have settled into my old world. I still love my old world and miss my friends so much. But I am also keenly aware of God's movement in my life to meet me in this new world. People who bring us joy, a home that we love, neighbors who have blessed us beyond belief. There's so much to be thankful for as we watch God fill in our pages. I remember the first few months entering most interactions with people with an expectation and wonder-"what will God do in this interaction? why did he bring this person into my life" It's been fun to see some of that unfold this year. Starting over is hard. Really Hard. And I am not sure I can say I would choose it for myself again (I told Andy that I hoped he liked this house, because I am planning on us being here til we die!). But I'm glad for the way it's helped me see that God is my good father and that my good gifts in my new world are from him.