Our Cross Country Move
Here I sit, ready to type our journey. My precious fur baby Stella Lou is laying by my feet, exposing her fluffy belly to me in utter joy.
Outside the large window that my desk is positioned up against, I see that there is a light breeze rustling the expansive branches of all the trees right in front of me.
These trees are exponentially taller than our 2 story home. They tower over everything, creating a green oasis for our family. I'm so in love with these gigantic trees and the massive amount of nature right at our fingertips here in Oregon.
So many people have questioned my husband and I on why we decided to move out here.
Did we have family in Portland? No.
Did a job bring us here? Nope, we work remote.
So then why the sudden move, across the country away from everything we have ever known?
The answer to that question is a little complex and multi-faceted. But the short version is quite simple really.
God.
We felt led to come here.
Magnetically drawn to a destiny that only our Creator is able to reveal to us.
"For you know that when your faith is tested, your endurance has a chance to grow." James 1:3 NLT
By faith we decided to blindly follow His path for our lives.
As a Native Austinite, Austin has always been my home. Through and through, this Texan is a hippie girl who likes to, "Keep Austin Weird".
So imagine my pleasant surprise when I came to the realization that I was meant to go to Austin's sister city, establish some roots and inevitably contribute to, "Keeping Portland Weird".
And yes, that is coincidentally Portlands city motto as well!
Jake and I both felt the pull, an irresistible urge to disrupt our entire lives and start over somewhere new in the Pacific Northwest.
In Austin, we had a wonderful close-knit supportive church family at Shoreline. We were getting involved at many different levels and really felt at home with our God community.
They were blessings to us in so many different ways.
All of our related family was also located in and around the Austin area. And coming from a very large family, we are all very close, having gatherings regularly and always being there to support and love one another.
Our families are so precious to us.
Making the decision to seperate ourselves from both our birth families and God family was not an easy choice. There was a massive amount of prayer and consulting wise council before coming to a conclusion.
But ultimately when God tells you to go, you pack up your bags and set out for your journey.
"Faith shows the reality of what we hope for; it is the evidence of things we cannot see." Hebrews 11:1 NLT
We didn't know what would be in store for us, and I still don't believe God has revealed the magnitude to which He has brought us here.
But we have found community in our neighborhood that we never experienced before. We have neighbors who are also becoming great friends.
Our prayers are being answered right before our eyes.
A comunity full of support and love and giving, that we never experienced in any of our previous living situations.
God has provided me with friends who love to craft, workout with me, and who love and encourage me in my relationship with God. Something that I had been praying a very long time for!
Jake has found buddies to stay active with, who love fellowship and playing an array of different sports. Men who reach out to him and make the first move to grow a deeper relationship. As a natural leader, my husband is typically the one initiating relationships and hangouts, so he was pleasantly surprised when others took the initiative with him first.
We have found another wonderful church, Mannahouse, to get involved with. They have a very wholesome sense of community and we both feel very comfortable within the congregation's midst. We are excited to get more involved and start a small group of our own up again here, to meet more new friends to fellowship with.
Our spiritual health has bloomed while here.
We feel closer to God and indescribably grateful that we obeyed His command to move and walk with Him into the unknown.
I'll be honest. The move was very hard, with lots of different stresses involved. There were times when we were packing up our place in Austin that we would just look at one another frazzled and think, "What are we even doing?", but we stayed faithful.
"Haven't I commanded you: be strong and courageous? Do not be afraid or discouraged, for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go." Joshua 1:9 HCSB
We knew that the Lord wanted to grow us and chisel us to become more like Him, and that this move would give us the opportunity to trust in Him and prove our belief that His plan is greater than ours could ever amount to be.
Moving across the country with my husband helped to further solidify our bond as being united as one.
Over this period, we have become even more just the best of friends, cherishing the family that we have made with one another. This move has strengthened our relationship in more ways than I can even imagine listing out.
We are so grateful that we listened to the voice in our hearts. That we blindly followed the path already laid out for us. That we now live in the lush city of Portland, Oregon.
"We can make our plans, but the Lord determines our steps." Proverbs 16:9 NLT
I am happier than I have ever been in my life. And healthier too!
My heart is on fire with love for the Lord and love for my beloved husband and gift from God.
Portland is our own personal oasis. This is our Garden of Eden.
One chapter of ours closed in Austin and another chapter has begun here in Portland. Later on, I will write in more detail about our move cross country, and many of the things we learned packing, preparing and traveling over 2,000 miles with all of our belongings and our kitty (Stella Luna).
But for now, I just wanted to give everyone a long overdue update on the Panko Family. We are better than ever, in love with life and one another infinitely.
"And may the Lord cause you to increase and overflow with love for one another and everyone, just as we also do for you." 1 Thessalonians 3:12 HCSB
