I mean, not really, but the country to us. We moved to Northern Virginia almost three years ago which is just crazy to me. You think Virginia and you think country. You think (at least this NY girl) thinks farm country, country music, getting stuck behind a tractor. But that is far from true where we’ve been currently living. Honestly, I’m not sure how they continue to squeeze people in around here. It is a highly populated area, busy, fast, new, expensive, lots to do and always go go go. There is always something to do or someplace to go, the houses are on top of each other and the pressure to do all the things is insane. I have a love-hate relationship with it. It’s the epitome of convenience. Everything is five minutes away, except it takes you twenty minutes to get there because of traffic.
When we started looking for a home, I was convinced we couldn’t move outside of a ten-minute radius so we can “stay connected” to our current life. I am spoiled, I’ll admit it. Everything is right here. I wasn’t moving to the “country”.
Well – the opposite happened. Josiah wanted to look outside of “the town lines” or at least my drawn town lines. I reluctantly agreed to drive up there but there was no way I was moving up there. Ha!
If you’ve been following along my social media at all this year so far you’d know my word of the year is intentional and I have felt God clearly telling me to SLOW DOWN. Well, this was another clear message.
We drove out there and I had a sense of peace, a voice telling me, “Nicole, slow down, this is where I want you”. Guys, I’ve heard of this peace before and I have seen God work in my life, faithfully, clearly, BUT I don’t think I have ever so quickly and clearly heard God speak like this.
We put an offer in on a house the next day. As soon as we did, a weight was taken off both mine and Josiah’s chest. A weight of a hurried life. The peace of slowing down, being more intentional spending more time as a family and building a community around us is so needed. The best part is that we are only extra 15-20ish minutes away from our current home. So although we will be adding a bit more of a drive to our favorite activities, we aren’t that far.
God is good. He is faithful and when we are open to listening, he is speaking to us. I am looking forward to this new chapter in our lives, in our marriage and in our family. I am looking forward to the beautiful views, having a yard and seeing more go God’s creation around us. I am excited to have space where my boys can learn to get dirty, run free and see the beauty around them instead of the latest car models. Needless to say, I am looking forward to our adventure of chasing slow and cultivating a life that matters. I am excited we are moving to the country.
PS – keep your eyes open for updates as I decorate our new home! I’m so excited to watch all my ideas come to life as we put together a home of simplicity and family.
