“For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the LORD, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. “   Jeremiah 29:11

A few years ago, our family decided to make a move across country, leaving everything we knew and loved, to a place we knew nothing about and where we knew no one.

We started our married life in Hudson, kids were born here, grew up at Bethel, went to preschool at BHP, and then moved onto Hudson schools. Everyone was happy, healthy and comfortable. Hudson was home and it felt good.

Why move now? We don’t like change, change is hard. 

Why not? If there was a time to move with family, this was a “good time.” We can learn from change and experience it together.

We were on an adventure, just the 5 of us. We had to purposefully dive right in, make new friends and try new things. Each day we talked about who we met or what we did. More so than ever before we had to put ourselves out there, at work, in the neighborhood, on the bus and at school.

We had to learn how to advocate for ourselves, no one knew us, knew our family, knew what our strengths were or our accomplishments. We had to pray and trust that our children would be safe in a new space. Even though it felt like an eternity, we quickly learned who could be there for our family. We were welcomed by neighbors, friends, teachers, and coaches; and friends opened their homes to us for holidays. We were truly amazed at how gracious people are. We felt blessed.

We had a lot of laughs and cries. There were things we said we’d never do again, other experiences that just made us laugh, but we were amazed at what we could do, and rewarded for giving it our best.

Change is hard, big or small, to the unfamiliar or familiar. We are happy to have taken the first leap of faith to move away, those experiences and friendships wouldn’t have happened if we hadn’t chose the adventure.

Prayer: Dear God, Thank you for walking with us each day while we were on our adventure. Please continue to walk with us in each new adventure, guiding us and encouraging us to put ourselves out there, for in each new experience we grow and prosper. Amen.

Allyson Loewe