Reuniting of the Family

On Friday, July 16th, my mom took two of our three dogs with her back to Arkansas. As some of us may remember, I had accepted a job that would change our world just a week earlier. My mom, being the wonderful lady she is, offered to come help me organize the house to prepare to put it on the market. When she left, she offered to house two of our dogs. This was the beginning of a long line of change...That Sunday, AJ went on an interview to Arkansas and took with him the last of the three dogs to stay with my wonderful, generous aunt. I was home alone, really alone. It was so strange after living in apartments and houses with dogs for 3.5 years to be alone.
Because we were living in a hotel, the dogs stayed with my parents and my aunt. They are saints for helping us. Then, it was the need to move into the house and let the movers come without having to be worried about dogs. So, two and a half months after my mom took our first two, we have brought the third dog home this evening. It was not without heartache that we made it this long without our beloved dogs. However, along the way, our dogs had foster parents, who grew to love them. There was heartbreak when we asked if we could have them back.
Throughout this journey, I've learned with change, a wide variety of emotions have developed. I've learned that almost all change brings pain. The pain of leaving everything that had become comfortable. The pains of dealing with trying to live in a hotel. The pain of dealing with trying to sell a house 8 hours away. The pain of not having your dogs with you. And now, the pain of taking your dog back from someone who you know will be heartbroken over it. Because, you love them and never want to hurt them. And yet, you have to. It's not fair. But through the pain and the wide variety of emotions, great things happen. You feel a great joy, peace, and happiness.
Throughout it all, I would have had way more breakdowns had I tried not to focus on God and let him take care of it. It's those times where I feel like I could control things, that they spin out of control and lead to a breakdown. And through the change, I've learned. ALOT. about. ALOT. (including myself, my relationships, my endurance, my love, and my willingness to submit). I wouldn't change it for the world. (Well, except I wish we could have our friends move here too....)