simply homemaker

Ah, how on brand to be writing my blog at 4:30PM after being released home early because of a tornado warning. There’s no place like Texas and there is no place like home.

There, you have it! 2 days ago, I arrived in Texas, after 20 hours of driving with a friend who so graciously flew up to Virginia to drive down with me. Sweet friends and family packed us food, a friend of mine and some people from our church fixed my car, and another friend whom I met briefly agreed to let us stay at her house in Nashville, Tennessee. I reported to my internship at Southwest Airlines yesterday morning and it has been so much fun.

It’s been fast-paced, it’s even been chaotic. On hour 17 of the drive, my engine check light came on and started flashing. We pulled up to the AutoZone in the next town who told us we needed to replace my car’s battery. We replaced it (thanks Cindy!), took a selfie, and made it to Fort Worth at 8:30PM. I was in the office at 8AM the next morning.

Logistically, it’s been such a hard year. I’ve not had a much stable home, even though I absolutely loved every single person I’ve stayed with and feel so grateful the Lord gave me the gift of their friendship. I’ve had my car looked at so many times, tried to get it inspected 3 times, and wasted so much money at AAA. I had to figure out finances with grad school. I worked hard on my relationships and set some boundaries. I had to sell my antique paintings because I simply didn’t have the storage (that was really hard). I was also figuring out visa complications across borders, filling out paperwork to move to Switzerland, and was so close to becoming a global travel law expert.

In some of my dear friends’ words, “your life is crazy.”

Over the course of the year, I was tempted to desire the idea of a “boring life.” A life where things don’t happen very often. A life where any small movement is going to make the headlines.

But, as I was dreaming about a life of nothingness, the Lord kindly reminded me that to everything there is a season.

There was a time when I didn’t leave the house for two days because I was baking sourdough.

There was a time when I left for pottery every Monday for three hours after work.

There was a time when I took a local hike every Saturday morning.

There was a time when a morning coffee ritual was a must (I sadly don’t drink coffee anymore).

And I think the trickiest thing about life is believing that these seasons will come again. That the current season will pass.

It might feel like it will never pass. It might actually end up being a very long season.

But I must believe it is God, who is slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love, is weaving the canvas together.

There have been so many things that this season has shown me. Three years ago, I also signed an offer to intern for Southwest in the summer between my junior and senior year. Little did I know COVID was going to take that away, and that I was going to be unemployed along with so many other people, and that I was going to get a job at Amazon instead, and that they were going to ask me to move to Virginia!

If I didn’t have my offer rescinded, I would not have moved to Virginia. The sheer thought of that gave me chills. That rejection changed my life, gave me the dearest friends and church, and led me to the place I am today.

Three years later, the Lord decided that it was time. I found out I was going to come back to Texas and work for Southwest before Thanskgiving of 2023. I was desperately looking for a sweet change and some familiar comfort, and Texas is just the right cure for my sickness.

Even better, the minimum wage now is $7 higher than it was in 2020 and they gave me a stipend to relocate. I definitely need this more than I needed it 3 years ago. 😊

And best of all, He knew I needed something more than I needed Southwest: I needed a church who challenges me, loves me, prays for me, and knows me. I had to move so that I could find it. I needed experiences that changed me to my core and made me more like Jesus. He knew what was important and when.

2 Peter 3:8-9 “But do not overlook this one fact, beloved, that with the Lord one day is as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day. The Lord is not slow to fulfill his promise as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing that any should perish, but that all should reach repentance.”

And soon, it would be the time to dance.

“To everything there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven:

A time to be born, and a time to die; a time to plant, and a time to pluck up that which is planted;

A time to kill, and a time to heal; a time to break down, and a time to build up;

A time to weep, and a time to laugh; a time to mourn, and a time to dance;

A time to cast away stones, and a time to gather stones together; a time to embrace, and a time to refrain from embracing;

A time to get, and a time to lose; a time to keep, and a time to cast away;”

from the Bible, in the book of Ecclesiastes, chapter 3

Love,

Tram