Over the past several weeks, Gordon and I have been arranging to move to a new active seniors apartment complex. First we had to get permission from the apartment we were in to move out before our lease expired. Then, Gordon had to pack everything and arrange for the movers. It all took about a month, but it is finally complete and we are in our new home.
I love this place! It is brand new; it is 200 sq ft larger than where we were; it is far cheaper; we got 2 free months rent, and our moving expenses reimbursed; there are many activities for us to be involved in; and it is much quieter and more peaceful here. Even our utilities are cheaper! I could go on and on about the reasons we chose to move, but I guess you can tell that we are happy to be here!
It is said that moving is very traumatic – up there with losing a loved one. But, the amazing thing about the whole move was that it wasn’t traumatic – not even stressful. Everything went so smoothly and so easy it was amazing.
We are learning to just ask God for what we want – state the desire of our heart – and then allow God to work out the details, while we patiently trust in the process along the way. It’s more than the cliche’ that ‘God is in control’ because often that is a fatalistic cop-out for the not-so-good things that happen to people. No, this is trust in the absolute Goodness of God that all we ask for is being worked on for our benefit.
Long before it became popular among Christians, my favorite verse from the Bible has been Jeremiah 29:11 – “God’s plans for me are always for my good and never to harm me or to withhold from me. And, those plans are to give me the future I desire.” So, we can simply trust that God’s plans are in agreement with the desires of my heart, and whatever I ask for, He will grant. We clearly saw this during our move. Every detail fell into place, and we are now living a principle that Gordon has shared with me many times – “God’s plans are to give us much more for a lot less.” We certainly do have a much nicer, larger home for a lot less than we were paying. Our new apartment is as big as our house was, minus the 3rd bedroom.
If you are wondering why we didn’t just ask for our own house instead of an apartment, I must explain that we did have a house for most of our marriage. The house was built for us, and we thoroughly enjoyed it and the pool. But, after Gordon retired, we no longer needed to live near his work, and he didn’t want the taxes, upkeep and expenses of owning a home. So, like many retirees, we made the decision to downsize our life, so we sold the house and moved to an apartment. At this stage of our life, our needs and desires have changed and we prefer to live in a nice apartment. We have exactly what we want.
There are a lot of friendly people here to connect with and have fun with. We are just beginning to meet some of them as we have opportunity. I’m looking forward to our future in this wonderful place.