It's funny to be blogging now about "settling in", since I actually moved from Florida to North Carolina LAST summer.... but here I am moving my blog and looking for something interesting to write about, and realizing that I'm only now actually settling in.
It's been almost a year since I sold my house, packed up my life and began the journey to NC. Moving to NC has always been a dream of mine. It may sound strange but there is something about this state that always makes me feel at home.
I remember going to the Outer Banks with a girlfriend {can I still say that and not have people assume the wrong image here?} and her family one summer when I was 16. We hung out on the beach under the stars chilling next to a bonfire with a hippie family we met there, listening to Pink Floyd and roasting marshmallows. Daring each other to swim in the dark ocean and laughing at each other when we couldn't handle more than running in and back along the crest of a single wave.
I'm no longer in touch with her, and I have no idea what happened to that family.... but the memory of that summer will always remain with me. Somewhere on that beach, a part of my identity was formed- the part that cherishes time spent together in the midst of nature. No expectations, no "plan", no timeline or schedule. Just enjoying whatever is right there in front of you.
I also remember visiting friends of our family in Charlotte, every summer for a few years when I was just on the edge of puberty. I loved the "big family" feel and the "country" neighborhoods they always lived in. Shared my first kiss in a tent out on their property and thought the whole world was completely wonderful each summer we visited. When we came to NC I could enter into a dream world, and find safety in their home- and peace in their surroundings. Another part of my identity was formed here- the part that wants nothing more than to provide a home in the country that provides peace and safety to those who enter it.
It really shouldn't be a surprise to me now, that living here has taken some time to get settled in. How do you settle in to real life when you're stuck in a dream? How do you make sense of things when your "dream" has all the same old problems as real life did before? It's all about perspective.
When I first moved up here, my step-mom took me hiking up in the mountains not far from our town. After spending the first few hours of the day hiking and praising God together, (yes... we sing out loud while we are hiking!) we drove to another peak for a different view. This place is called Wiseman's View. This view is breathtaking... you can see the entire Linville Gorge, Table Rock, ... who knows what else... let me just tell you, it's spectacular. We climbed off the trail a little bit and sat on the edge of a rock and just took it all in. We asked Jesus if there was anything He wanted us to know while we were sitting there. As I sat there, relaxing in the light breeze, watching a lone eagle soar across the expansive sky He whispered in my soul, "This is home".
Sometimes you have to get up early and work up a sweat to get here, but the peace and safety I feel here, it comes from Him. The "wiseman" knows where his help comes from. The "wiseman" knows that rest is a major ingredient of peace and safety.... but without the "hike" and "drive" to get there... it might never become the "view" you are looking for.
My "dream" of living in NC is now a reality. And it takes both an internal drive and hard work to get to the place where dreams come true.
It's been almost a year since I sold my house, packed up my life and began the journey to NC. Moving to NC has always been a dream of mine. It may sound strange but there is something about this state that always makes me feel at home.
I remember going to the Outer Banks with a girlfriend {can I still say that and not have people assume the wrong image here?} and her family one summer when I was 16. We hung out on the beach under the stars chilling next to a bonfire with a hippie family we met there, listening to Pink Floyd and roasting marshmallows. Daring each other to swim in the dark ocean and laughing at each other when we couldn't handle more than running in and back along the crest of a single wave.
I'm no longer in touch with her, and I have no idea what happened to that family.... but the memory of that summer will always remain with me. Somewhere on that beach, a part of my identity was formed- the part that cherishes time spent together in the midst of nature. No expectations, no "plan", no timeline or schedule. Just enjoying whatever is right there in front of you.
I also remember visiting friends of our family in Charlotte, every summer for a few years when I was just on the edge of puberty. I loved the "big family" feel and the "country" neighborhoods they always lived in. Shared my first kiss in a tent out on their property and thought the whole world was completely wonderful each summer we visited. When we came to NC I could enter into a dream world, and find safety in their home- and peace in their surroundings. Another part of my identity was formed here- the part that wants nothing more than to provide a home in the country that provides peace and safety to those who enter it.
It really shouldn't be a surprise to me now, that living here has taken some time to get settled in. How do you settle in to real life when you're stuck in a dream? How do you make sense of things when your "dream" has all the same old problems as real life did before? It's all about perspective.
When I first moved up here, my step-mom took me hiking up in the mountains not far from our town. After spending the first few hours of the day hiking and praising God together, (yes... we sing out loud while we are hiking!) we drove to another peak for a different view. This place is called Wiseman's View. This view is breathtaking... you can see the entire Linville Gorge, Table Rock, ... who knows what else... let me just tell you, it's spectacular. We climbed off the trail a little bit and sat on the edge of a rock and just took it all in. We asked Jesus if there was anything He wanted us to know while we were sitting there. As I sat there, relaxing in the light breeze, watching a lone eagle soar across the expansive sky He whispered in my soul, "This is home".
Sometimes you have to get up early and work up a sweat to get here, but the peace and safety I feel here, it comes from Him. The "wiseman" knows where his help comes from. The "wiseman" knows that rest is a major ingredient of peace and safety.... but without the "hike" and "drive" to get there... it might never become the "view" you are looking for.
My "dream" of living in NC is now a reality. And it takes both an internal drive and hard work to get to the place where dreams come true.
