Moving Out-In-On-Beyond

Today as I write, I am listening to the rain fall gently outside my kitchen window. The rain has made the house unusually dark for 2 o'clock in the afternoon, so I decided to take advantage of the atmosphere, light some candles, pour a fresh cup of coffee, and turn on some ukulele Jazz. I am now moved out of Detroit and am preparing to move out to Chicago. This move has proved to be thought provoking for me. When I move this time, it will be the first move that I've made where I can definitively say that I will not be moving back to the house that I've called home for the past 22 years of my life. As I pack for Chicago, I pack with the understanding that I'm packing for a longer stay than the three years I'll be in Illinois. It is with that understanding that I have begun to place all of my belongings into three separate piles: one for what's coming with me, one for what will stay behind, and one that I will permanently part ways with.

This past weekend I was staying at my fiance's place and I was looking at all of the little trinkets and things that she had on her shelves and that's what got me thinking. I thought about how all of this stuff was a marker of where she had been, who she was, and what life was once like for her. Those are all experiences that she and I will never be able to share. That moment opened up parts of her that I'd never really seen before. And it made me sad that I would never share in that with her. Now as I pack, I look around at everything in my room. It all has a story, it all has a place in the history of me. Much of it, Mallory will never experience with me, and maybe never understand. Now I know that all of these possessions don't really represent who I am, but my experiences with them tell little pieces of me and that gives them meaning. 


What gives me hope about the future and what gives me strength in the unknown is knowing that, while there may be innumerable parts to each person's life, those pieces all become expressed when we come together. When we gather communally in relationship with one another, we become something more. I am given confidence in the road ahead knowing that what comes next for Mallory and I runs deeper than all of the little pieces we leave behind. Those things will have influence over us and though we never shared in those individual experiences, together we are shaping them into something new; a story of us. Next comes who WE are, and that is far more significant than the man I am alone. 


So as I stood there in her room I realized that all of those things are a part of the story of her, and they will become a part of my story as well. For that, for shared experience, for shared love, and for the sake of following the voice that calls all of our hearts together, I am forever thankful. As I pack I do so knowing that the two most important pieces of my life will be coming with; my faith and my love, and in those pieces I'm called home.