Changes

The last time I updated this blog, I had recently come back from overseas, was working for a collegiate missions organization, and living in southern California. I am now writing as an aide for the kindergarten classes at a local elementary school, and living in central Virginia. Needless to say, the last few years have been full of changes, some expected and some not so much. The last few years have been full of dichotomies; it's been easy and hard, joyful and depressing, stressful and relaxing. It's been a time of finding out how much I can really handle, and how I react when life throws me curve balls. I think most of all though, it's been a time of deep community, of being loved when I didn't deserve it, of being gently guided when I'd lost my way. And for that I couldn't be more grateful. And for that it's hard to leave this strange place that has become home. I've been accepted to a program in San Fransisco that will certify me to teach ESL, so I will be moving back to California this summer. I'm excited about the program and the potential doors that it could open. I'm excited about starting a career that combines a few of my passions and that I think I will really love. I'm scared of failing, of starting over, of the unknown. I'm sad to leave the place that I've learned to call home, and happy to be returning to the place that I think I always knew was home. Drastic changes have marked the past few years, drastic changes are now on my horizon again. Sometimes I think I won't be able to handle it, and that I just want to stay in my little bubble forever. But that's not where the good stories come from. That's not the place where you learn about yourself and the One who holds you. And that's not the place where I want to live. So here's to the future, to the unknown, to a new adventure.