Searching for blessings

We live a somewhat isolated life.
We live in a town with a population of 900.
When I first saw this town, Mayberry came to mind. 
I envisioned my kids spending carefree days riding their bikes 
through the town, kids running through my house grabbing 
handfuls of homemade chocolate chip cookies and Popsicles, 
and many slumber parties and sleepovers. 

But, the reality is something more akin to Nightmare on Elm Street.
Sure, we're safe. There are no boogie men; none that I know of anyhow. 
But, nearly every single person in town shuns us because we're 
not "from here".  We, my husband and I, were not born and raised here, 
so, our family will never be accepted.  I went and talked to our local priest 
(who is also an "outsider"),  and he confirmed my fears. He told me that 
in small towns like ours, you must spend at least three generations in a place 
before you're fully accepted. Really? Who has that kind of time? 

My husband has been keeping his eyes open for new job opportunities 
for the past six years. But, it seems that the Lord is determined 
to keep us here. I have prayed for a move. I've begged for a move. 
 I've even dug deep to try and find the positive side of living here. 
Some days it can be hard. The kids have no friends to play with.
I have nobody close to sit and share a cup of coffee with.  

Before you start thinking to yourself, "Well, sign the kids up in some activities, 
then they'll meet some friends". I've tried several, even in different towns. 
But, we are still not accepted into the community circle. I moved 10 times
since I was married and before we finally moved here. I can think of only 
one other time when we were ignored. It too was a small town. But, the upside
of that situation was that we were only a short drive from a bustling tourist 
area where the people were more friendly in general. A long drive here,
and we don't fair much better then the ignorance in our own town.

On a slightly different note, I used to sit and fantasize about how much
happier I'd be if we could "just move". I thought that my anger issues would
all dissolve if we could "just move". But, I've learned during this Lenten season, 
that I would have been angry and unhappy no matter where we lived. 
I would have found fault with any location. I'm glad that God 
has shown me this wisdom. I know it doesn't mean that everything 
will be perfect now. But, I have noticed that instead of getting angry, 
I get to the root of the emotion, and I bounce back and move on much more quickly. 
I'm also shifting my focus away from moving, being unhappy and angry, 
and redirecting it to things like how to create joy within our family, and what
I can do for others. So far, it has proven to be a positive experience. I don't know
why I'm surprised. The Bible talks about how if we take our focus off of ourselves, 
and aim it to serving others, we'll find much happiness and gratification. 
These days, instead of praying, "Lord, please let us move." I pray, 
"Lord, please show me  how I can lift my family's spirit, and how I can help others."

Because I've changed my focus, I think that if God does ever let us move elsewhere, 
I believe that I'll find the joy much more easily in the place where God planted us. 
And, I think I'll be able to go with the flow better too. It's like I told my kids, "If we
can find blessings in living here, it will be much easier to find new blessings anywhere".  


To finding new joy, new friends, and new blessings. Amen!