Family is everything.
Three words that we have all heard, but this past weekend, the truth of this statement really impacted me.
We have been moving forward on the new house and all was going well until we hit a significant snag. The appraisal was less than the agreed upon selling price and put everything in jeopardy. The seller was reluctant to resolve the difference which put us in a place where we had to consider walking away and starting over again. Thankfully, it all ended up working out and we are very very grateful to be moving forward again. But the time we spent in uncertainty over the weekend was tough.
On top of the house stress, my emotions were also running very high after spending some time in the cemetery checking on the flowers on my Grandma’s and MawMaw’s graves. As I stood by the markers for my grandmother’s, I prayed that God would help me become the strong and loving women that they were. I thought about the the way that they always faced obstacles with grace and faith and always kept their families needs first, no matter what.
So I took a deep breath and headed home with determination to at least clean up the house a little bit before Michael’s parents arrived for a visit. That’s what they would have done. My grandmother’s would’ve kept their chins up and gotten ready to take care of their families.
However, there was another snag, I misunderstood the timeframe for the day and my in-laws were already at my house before I could get there.
Sigh.
There were a few tears in the driveway as I lamented over the fact that my inlaws had witnessed the state of my half packed and disastrous house. It was not a proud moment for me.
Later that afternoon, Michael and I left the kids with Bruce and Kim and left to go see a couple houses and figure out our next steps. We also swung by Target to get a small cake to celebrate Michael and Kim’s birthdays which only left me feeling even more inept. If I was holding up the legacy of my grandmothers, my house would be spotless like Grandma’s and a fresh lemon cake would have been baked and waiting like MawMaw’s. I felt as though I was failing at being the wife and mom and daughter in law that I needed to be.
Here’s where the story turns…
When we got home, my kids had been made to clean up the playroom with Papa while Bemaw manned the messy kitchen and washed every pot and cup in sight.
Family. Is. Everything.
I am not enough on my own, but that’s ok because I am not on my own. I have an army of love around me and under me that are there when the chips are down and life gets messy. Just like I would be there for them in a heartbeat, they are there for me too. My parents and inlaws and grandparents have always been there for me and I am humbled and inspired by their love.
It hasn’t always been easy, and it’s not perfect now either, but it is beautiful. The way that God created the family to be this perfectly flawed tapestry of strength is exactly what I needed this weekend. Words can not express how grateful I am for the support and love. Even now, my parents have taken on my little dog, Chloe, because she was becoming too much to handle with all the packing. They didn’t have to do that, but they did.
In the end, everything has worked out but I’m actually really thankful that it had a few days that were really tough. It’s been a great reminder of how much I have to be thankful for and how much I stress about things that are just not that important. Family is important and being there for each other is important; not clean houses and homemade cakes.
Family is everything.
