One day you will look back on this choice and realize that
you and your husband took the biggest risk you could have possibly taken to do
something big, something scary, something you’ve always had it inside of you to
do. You’ll have a smile on your face
when you think of the moments you made with your family at the most beautiful
places. You won’t reminisce on the
struggles or challenges, because it won’t matter. Those challenges in the end will make your
family closer and stronger. The
conversations that took place, although sometimes extremely hard, will be the
catapult to a happier existence and memories that will forever remain sewn into
the fabric of who you are.
This journey will be the reason you are where you are in
life. When others share stories of
similar feats, you will smile knowing that you share something special with
them. This something special is the
ability to leap into the fierce unknown and chase after a dream without
reservations. This is not something to
take lightly. You’ll wonder, looking
back, how you actually made it happen.
Although deep down you will remember that you let go of your fear and
put aside the “what ifs,” and that was the very gateway to an abounding
life. This means discovering the path of
letting go of micromanaging your own life and instead finding out what God can do
in your life. It will prove to be a
worthy decision and will build your faith like nothing else.
The family trials and challenges will seem small compared to
the big picture, which is seeing your family blossom in a new way. God will use this time to shape you in ways
that are needed, but have been neglected for so long. One day you will be presented with a moment
you have been preparing your whole life for and you will be ready, because you
stepped out on faith in this journey.
God has a huge plan for your life.
Your kids will be better rounded individuals and one day
fully appreciate what this experience was all about. They might even grow to appreciate each other! It will ignite a spark in them that will be
used later in shaping their own dreams and pursuing them with hearts full of
passion. As this happens it will create
such a great moment of pride as a parent, seeing who they have become. This journey will allow them to see the
important things in life and that taking time for these things really makes all
the difference. The togetherness that at
times were brutal will be the same thing that glues your family together in a
way otherwise impossible.
You will laugh as people couldn’t (and still can't) understand why you would
live with your family in a trailer to find simplicity and happiness, but as you
look into their over-scheduled lives, you will wish they could see what you’ve
seen with your very own eyes. People
will talk about seeing places and hoping to vacation in places that your own
two feet have touched and your very eyes seen.
Once again, a smile will find its way to your face when you realize that
life is an adventure worth living and you and your family embraced it.
There is no one right path.
That’s the biggest lie out there.
It’s a lie lined with fear holding the majority of individuals back from
ever taking one single step toward their dreams. In a moment of enlightenment (or pure
insanity) you will know that you were able to take that first, terrifying and
thrilling step that led you to a magical place where you lived beyond the
lie. Dreams are meant to be chased. Fear is meant to be overcome. And, a real life is waiting on the other
side. God gives us each the ability to
live life uniquely with our own passions and talents and we can either embrace
that or try to fit into a mold. Not
everyone will understand our family and the press on our hearts for this simple
way of life, but looking back there won’t be any wondering or thinking “what if
I stayed in my normal life and did all the normal things?” Our family will be remembered as the
trendsetters, the hippies, the dreamers— the people without an excuse. In the end, we will say we lived life with no
regrets, never looking back and we rolled on against all odds.
Something truly remarkable will stem from this. Maybe not the “win the lottery or become
famous” kind of thing (which is perfectly alright by me), but the kind of big
that is life altering for the person, or family in our case, experiencing
it. Be ready for that new opportunity
when it comes, because it will require another step out of your comfort
zone. And as you step, smile with the
changing seasons of your life and a new adventure ahead.
