One year ago today, my family woke up in sleeping bags. We'd just spent our last night in the empty rooms of our Beaverton home. On the agenda that day was something really hard: driving away from that home and into the great Colorado unknown.
I cannot believe a year has passed already. I still can't read my last Oregon blog post without crying a bit.
Happy and settled as we are in Colorado Springs, I get a little misty when I think about the fabulous people and places we left behind. Just last night I was chatting online with a dear friend I visit taught in Beaverton. Our conversation brought back fond memories, as well as a few sad twinges. I miss so many people, the luscious green trees everywhere, the rain, the coast. I thought I'd grow old in Oregon. My plans don't always work out.
But sometimes (well, most of the time, I'm finding) life isn't about what I want or what I think I need. And I have to say that I'm very happy with this particular not-what-I-wanted step in my eternal journey. This move has helped me grow in ways I couldn't have grown if I had been rooted in the familiar and the comfortable. I have seen with greater clarity the hand of a loving Heavenly Father directing and sometimes clearing my path. He knows what I need. He knows what my family needs.
I never could have imagined that after just a year in this place, I would feel so at home or have friends so dear to my heart, but I do! And in my wildest dreams, I could not have pictured marking this anniversary with a baby girl in my arms, but I am! It's funny how life turns out. Funny, and kind of great.
7 comments:
Wow! We are sure happy you planted a new seed here in Colorado. It is amazing to look back on a year full of milestones. Life sure can fly by sometimes.
I was thinking it was just about a year ago. I know, it's amazing how a year does change things. I've thought the same thing about my life many times.
I know exactly how you feel. I still get heartsick when I think of Washington. But I love our life here. It's amazing the twists and turns that come, and how they all seem to be just right in the end! I'm sure glad you are here!
I can't believe it's been a year, but on the other hand it HAS felt like you guys have been on a vacation for a very long time. Thank goodness for online communication to keep us up-to-date with each other. I'm glad you're feeling so comfortable and settled in there and that you've found such wonderful friends.
It really is amazing that a year has flown by since most of us have moved here. I am so glad we were all brought together to share in the friendship, the ups, the downs, the good and the bad. It is so unique to be in a place with so many amazing people our age. Colorado Springs just has a way of growing on you.
See you tomorrow!
Aw, I felt kind of misty, too!!
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