Calm Before the Storm

Today is June 7th. My Mom and sister arrive in China on July 3rd. Less than four weeks away. We depart for the US on July 18th. Time is ticking away. And very quickly at that.

This weekend I don't have any plans. We have no groups visiting the foster home who I have to host, no lunch or dinner plans with friends, and since it's a rainy Saturday morning, spending the day at the pool is even out. And as I sit here, thinking what would be the most productive use of my Saturday, I take a look at the upcoming weekends.

Next weekend, we have a team here which I have agreed to help host. The following weekend, I may be out of town with one of the other foster home staff members (those plans are still up in the air). And the following weekend? That is just a few days before I fly to Beijing to meet my Mom and sister for a few days of exploring. My goal is to be packed before they arrive. Of course I can't pack everything, but there is a lot I can pack and the plan is to be done. Therefore, that final weekend will be spent doing that very thing.

I sit here thinking how this weekend is the "calm before the storm." Usually when you think storm, you think  bad. At least I do. But this time, I don't think that at all. I just think busy, fun-filled, and change happening very quickly. I have known this day was coming, the day that I would leave China. But it still still coming up very quickly. So quickly in fact, that I know I need to start preparing myself emotionally for the huge upcoming changes. My future holds a lot of unknowns. I have way more questions than I have answers for right now, but I DO know that it is going to be quite the adventure. And I DO know that even though it is going to be crazy and hectic and may feel out of control at times, that He is with me through it all. And because of that, I have confidence in this upcoming season of change.

So what have I decided to do today? Clean, weed-out, give away items I won't be taking with me, and packing what I can. This is really happening, folks. I'm really leaving China. As in, six weeks from right now, I will be on an airplane, bound for the US of A.

It's scary, it's intimidating, it's overwhelming, but it's also exciting. This weekend I am going to enjoy the calm before the storm.