Arms Wide Open

arms wide open 

a posture to receive
no fight
no resistance

an intentional loss of control
an understanding
an awareness of what’s to come

a release of the plans
dreams
wants

an opportunity
for
something new
something different
something MORE

Is there a longing in your heart that you have repressed?  Is there a dream you have had for a long time that you have ignored?  Have you been standing with your arms crossed tightly, holding the known, the comfortable, and the controlled?  Yeah?  Me too!  The best thing I did was to change my posture and allow my arms to be wide open.  Let me explain…

In April 2016 Alan came to me with a deep homesickness that could only be helped by going home to Queensland, Australia.  It had only been a couple of years since our last trip back, but this time it was a deeper longing than he had in the past.  This longing is something that flares every couple of years.  We have always responded by purchasing flights and traveling home to Oz during our summer or Christmas break.   He has handled being away from home for almost 17 years with great ease and patience, usually.  Goodness knows our story would not have looked the same had we settled in Australia first.  Let’s just say I am a Mama’s AND Daddy’s girl (love you Mom and Dad)!  Yet, this time his need to go home was more urgent.  So, we booked flights in May and flew out in June just after school ended.

Having traveled to Australia several times before, this trip in 2016 was definitely different.  In times past, I would be on edge, stressed, worried, consumed by the packing, schedules, details, and visits with our extended Aussie family – especially as we added more children to the mix.  This ‘way’ had just become my way – I used it as an excuse when I was short with my words and a tad mean with my tone – I am anything BUT perfect, people.  Yet, with each day leading up to our trip and each day during, I relaxed, filled with peace and wonder, and I had a sense of rightness (okay, that sounds funny, but I am going with it).  My arms were wide open.  This was new.  Without question, this trip was the turning point for our tribe’s next wild adventures.

Backtracking…

The moment I met Alan back in 2001 in Rockhampton, Australia at Central Queensland University, I knew Australia was my home away from home in one way or another.  I had fallen in love – with a man and his country.  (Actually, I had fallen in love with the country before the man after watching “The Man From Snowy River” when I was 8 or 9, but I digress.)  We chose Michigan as our permanent home – where we have raised our four kiddos and established life.  Australia is always in our hearts, however, deeply rooted in who we are as a family, a tribe.  We can easily recall 5 am conversations in our early years of marriage, wondering if we would ever live in Australia for a time, more than just our 3-5 week visits.  Of course, we both hoped we would, but nothing ever came of it.

It wasn’t until we returned from our 2016 visit that everything changed.  Alan had noticed my change, my openness, my willingness to be present and it stirred in him a thought that we had not discussed for some time.  Upon our return home to Michigan, he asked me if I would be willing to make a move to Australia, for a year, to give it a try to see if it is something we would want to do more long-term.  This thought was also spurred on by the need for us to be closer to his family for a period of time – for our children to know their cousins, for Alan’s parents to know us well, for us to claim this side of our story.

Over the past year, we planned, prayed, cried, sought wisdom from family and friends, and began our dreaming for this year abroad.  Our tribe was definitely ready for a new adventure and what better than to chase the sun to the Land Down Under where we already have roots established?!  I have continued to have the posture of my arms being wide open, ready to receive. With a heart full of gratitude, I stand in awe of the opportunity to pack our lives up without much hassle, to leave everything we love and know as home, and to travel halfway around the world to another country for a year.  This is a gift that I, we could have easily missed out on if I hadn’t changed my posture.

So, dear friends, I want to end this post with some encouragement – open your arms, look up with your head lifted high, stand tall and know that this is a better way to live.  Yes, it’s scary at first (read – CONTROL ISSUES), but you will find you feel more free, more able to see and experience the world that we have been given so graciously.  May you each choose a posture with your ARMS WIDE OPEN, ready to receive whatever comes your way!

**Now, just to clear something up – for those of you reading this who stopped reading at the “want to do it more long-term” comment mentioned above – at this point, we are very certain that we are returning to Michigan at the end of our year in Australia.  Michigan is home for many reasons, but Australia is home for now.  

We are now both standing with our arms wide open, however, so really, anything could happen!  Ha!