Fall Flowers

Yesterday, on my drive to work, I saw a funny sight. The outdoor "lifestyle" mall where I work was beginning to hang their Christmas decorations, and yet they still had hanging baskets and rose bushes in full bloom. That pretty much sums up this time of year, doesn't it? One foot still in the colorful season of autumn, and the other foot ready to walk into the holidays.



In many ways, this is a perfect analogy for my life as well. I have now officially lived in small town Indiana for longer than I lived in the suburbs of St. Louis. And while this place has its many charms, we have not felt settled here the same way we did in our previous home. We've never made the connections with church and community and friends that we made back in Missouri. Oh sure, my boys have done fine in school. But my husband and I have had a hard time building relationships that are meaningful here.

We're at an odd place in our lives. We feel the pull of our families far away, while trying to maintain the day to day life of work and school and church. It makes it difficult to plant some roots, water them, and watch them grow. In many ways, we have one foot here, but one foot seems to hover in mid step, waiting for a new direction where God may lead us in the future.

We have decided to pray on this as a couple. I am sensing changes for 2011. I don't know what is in store for us, but I know that if it comes from God, then it's all good.



{recipe: Garden Collage (SU), peach parfait ink and card stock, early espresso ink and card stock, cajun craze ink and card stock, soft suede ink, scallop edge punch, Sizzix embossing folder, Karen Foster paper}