It Happened Last Saturday

Originally posted by Kevin, February 23, 2006

It happened last Saturday…

A family of five, each person in a different country. Now, leaving the cozy confines of the Midwest for a new home in a new city across the Atlantic is one thing. But to have each family member dispersed to a different nation - that for us is a little weird.

Kari, as you may know is back in the USA, resettling in the Twin Cities. And Kristi is in Harpenden, England completing a discipleship school with Youth With A Mission. Last Saturday while Kathy was home in The Hague, The Netherlands Kenny was in Switzerland with a large group of missionary kids at a Christian Associates snowboard camp and Kevin was over in Belgium with a buddy from Minnesota. Five family members in five different countries all at once.

Okay, for some of you world travelers, that may not sound like a big deal. But for the stay-at-home-Johnson’s, realizing that was a bit strange.

In one sense it is a reflection of living in Europe. It wouldn’t be noteworthy back in the US to have us all in different states. Kenny skiing in Wisconsin, Kari at school in Iowa (like that would happen), Kristi at school in Colorado and Kathy at a conference in Chicago. (Notice that in this example I am the stay at home guy.) But it is also a reflection of our new life.

One of the hardest transitions for Kathy and me, and we did see this coming, is the impact this move has on our daughters. At a time when they are stretching their wings in big ways it is nice to have the old familiar nest to return home to from time to time. We can no longer reasonably provide that. We aren’t sure how much that matters to our girls, but to us it’s a big deal. It creates in Kathy and me a greater sense of letting go than we would otherwise embrace. A greater sense of trusting God to be that home base in our daughters’ lives.

Five on five. Maybe next year we’ll go for continents.