Well then. Last day of the Unsettling Adventure. I was naive to call it that, I think; it’s been horrible.
Anyway. There’s now a distinct finality to the emails from the solicitor. Even the estate agent has gone from frantically defensive to sort of Pina-colada-relaxed and jolly, if you know what I mean. Tomorrow we move.
“All set then?” she asked. It struck me that she had been much more of a question-answerer than an asker, and for her to take a breath to ask such a simple one was refreshing. I told her we were ready.
It’s been such a long season, all of this. It started last November when a face-masked estate agent with shiny shoes came into my flat to chat about valuation, and the process of putting it on the market.
Then, on February 7th, we saw the house we’ll be living in from tomorrow. I still remember the gulp of fear and astonishment I took when they told us our offer had been accepted. If he’d also said it would take eleven months, I’m not sure we’d be where we are now.
We got married in April and moved into the flat together. It strikes me as a sort of surreal time between April and August last year. Through the blossoms of late spring and a broiling summer, we did our best to make home while also knowing it was temporary.
Thinking back to it, the noisy night-time neighbours, the creaky floors, and the sickly smell of weed coming in through the windows, were all little catalysts for us to get going, to long for something more permanent. We keep reminding each other that we couldn’t have stayed there.
It’s interesting to me that the next season, the Unsettling Adventure has actually been longer than that first season of our marriage so far. That means that Sammy and I have spent more time without a home than with one. I think it’s been one of the toughest times of my life, but I’ve learned a lot.
We’ll go to bed peacefully tonight. I’m still nervous - we’ve been looking forward to this house for so long, our expectations are probably stratospheric - there are bound to be some things we’ve overlooked, and certainly there’ll be things we are not expecting in the new house. Navigating through that will be tricky. In fact, just navigating through the basics of what goes where and why, what colour things should be, who gets to see it, when, how… well I’m praying it’ll all work out in some lovely equilibrium.
As it happens, our address corresponds to three things: grace, growth and grit. Ask me how when you see me, but trust me, it really does. I’ve always thought that might be a prophetic symbol of something - and as the Unsettling Adventure comes to an end and the real adventure slots into view, I can really see how God has taught us all three of those things and how useful they may be.
And I am so thankful.
No comments:
Post a Comment