If you read my earlier blog post you know that this season has come with a lot of transition and stepping into the unknown. When I wrote in August, I shared about our new venture to move to the US after almost 8 years of living in Sweden. Frej had quit his job in order to study full-time for the USMLE, taking work gigs around the country in between his exams. I was getting ready to sell off all of our belongings that weren't following us to Miami in order to move into what we call our "in-between" home while simultaneously working, studying, tackling a career and business change, being pregnant, and raising a toddler.
We thought it would be a good idea to move into a tiny furnished cottage, tackling the challenging part of minimizing completely before having a baby and hopefully making our big move in the spring. We also wanted to fully enjoy our last few months in Sweden living in a place we loved.
Nearly a year after starting the process, Frej passed his exams and received his ECFMG certification (yay!). He has a few interviews lined up and we are all settled into the tiny cottage living as true minimalists. Frej was away working for most of November but after having an "I'm going into labor" scare, he came right home. This hectic season has finally come to an end and now we wait: for interviews and hopefully a job offer, for our little girl to arrive, any minute now really, and for answers. I received a message at the beginning of this new venture. "Everything will fall into place" and I believe that to be true no matter what happens. This is a time to truly surrender outcomes and find REST. Just in time for the holiday season. Where, at least on this side of the world, the cold has come in, it's become quiet and dark, and the coziness of the season has brought warmth and joy into our homes. Gratitude fills the air.
The end of this pregnancy has forced me to rest in a whole new way and I feel so grateful for the slow pace we've had these last few days as a family of three. I've learned that rest is a discipline, not a reward. It can feel easier to keep going, to keep pushing through, checking off another thing from your list. Rest can be an uncomfortable state to transition into but it gives the gift of full presence and gratitude. It gives us the opportunity to see the beauty we tend to miss when we are living life too quickly. It shows us how precious life truly is.
