“Celebration when your plan is working? Anyone can do that. But when you realize that the story of your life could be told a thousand different ways, that you could tell it over and over as a tragedy, but you choose to call it an epic, that’s when you start to learn what celebration is. When what you see in front of you is so far outside of what you dreamed, but you have the belief, the boldness, the courage to call it beautiful instead of calling it wrong, that’s celebration.”
― Shauna Niequist
And celebrate we will as we prepare to move back to Grand Rapids, Michigan. What a weird whirlwind it has been since we first left. Hard to believe so much has happened since. A lot of chaos and a lot of mess with tiny moments of goodness and grace woven in between. I am so very excited to be heading back to the city, where Mac and I’s story began and apparently, where I left a big piece of my heart.
For those of you who don’t know, I lived in Grand Rapids for a little over two years. I didn’t want to leave but God had different plans in mind. From Grand Rapids I moved to Holland, Michigan and shortly after my move, Covid hit. For Covid related reasons, I moved back home where Macatawa and I lived with my mom. A few months at home and then came the opportunity to live in Iowa with my sister and brother-in-law where I would get to help with their three year old and newborn twins. Fast forward to today and I can honestly tell you that none of that was what I had planned. I didn’t love the idea of moving home after having had lived alone for so long. I didn’t love the idea of leaving Michigan and I certainly didn’t love that I didn’t have a place to call my own. I think it’s safe to say that I wasn’t living the life I dreamed I would. Nevertheless I was living a life I loved. I got to spend more time with my family than I could have ever dreamed of and I was able to forego certain responsibilities that otherwise would have held me back. And while the lack of stability was daunting at times, I chose to forge on and fight for what God was preparing me for.
All of that to say, life has been less than stable since I first left Grand Rapids. I fell in love with my life in that city and I’ve really missed it. The journey has been trying, filled with hardships and triumphs but I am wildly excited to be settled again. I choose to celebrate all that was so far outside of what I dreamed and look forward to this next step in my journey.
As for the actual move, Macatawa will join me in January but keys are available tomorrow! I’m writing so that I can share my excitement with you but also to assure you that there is more content to come. Home content will go back to being a big piece of what I love sharing on my blog and Instagram and regular posts will resume. Life has been busy but this move is giving me fresh inspiration and motivation and I can’t wait to blog from a new apartment in my favorite city! My blog and Instagram are going to re-launch in 2021 with plenty of long overdue updates but in the meantime, you can follow the move over on my Instagram (@anna_rittenhouse) and right here on the blog via my Grand Rapids tab. I will do my best to link what is heading to the new place via my LIKEtoKNOW.it page so you can shop the things you are interested in early.
Life is messy, far from what I dreamed and I’ve never been more in love. Trust God in all circumstances, He has yet to let me down!
Xoxo, Anna
Pictures taken by Lara Parent Photography
Great blog! I can’t wait to see your guys place once you get it set up. Can’t wait for stuff to open up so we can go do some more beer tasting. And hopefully my truck engine doesn’t blow up this time.