Instead Of...

I am sitting in a very different spot than I was last month.

Instead of finding myself outside with my students at recess, or helping them find their hot lunches, I am finding my days much more quiet. I am not at my desk, grading homework and I am not subbing for an absent music teacher.

I now find myself in a new place: Hondo, Texas.

My husband got a new job and we moved.

I am excited for this new opportunity to live in a different place and I am thankful that we were able to stay in Texas.

But sometimes during the day I find myself longingly looking out my window onto a vast cotton field and I am reminded how quickly life can change.

Instead of a coworker coming up to my desk asking for help, or a student showing me a picture they made for my bulletin board, I sit here in silence.

I know soon there will be the pitter-patter of my baby's feet and the house won't seem so quiet. I am looking forward to those days!

As I consider my own "instead of's" I think of the people of Ukraine who are going through horrific change as all they held dear falls apart. Instead of driving home from work, they are fleeing across the border. Instead of gathering together for a church service, they are cramped into bomb shelters. Instead of home renovations, they are taking one bag of essentials, leaving their once valuables behind.

Their stories remind me of a little girl I have recently gotten to know very well. As a Jew she lived in occupied Paris and had to flee for her life as well, leaving all she knew behind.

For the past two years I have been writing this little girl's story and I could only imagine and try to write to the best of my ability what war refugees experience.

I can't give away the whole story, but there are so many real life accounts of war refugees from WWII that tell the gripping tales of individuals giving up everything they knew and loved as the war raged.

Thinking on all these people have endured through the changes they experienced and are living in the midst of right now, has helped me keep things in the proper perspective.

For instance, when I start feeling a little homesick, it reminds me to pray for the people of Ukraine.

And then I remember how God's love stays constant. Through all the change, uncertainties, the moves, the fears, He remains.

Instead of a heart gripped by fear or sadness when life seems to be changing all around us, God invites our hearts to stay close to His and find our hope in Him.

Note: I am very excited to share the story I referenced in this post with you later this year!