Saying good bye in New York was so hard. It is amazing how close you grow to people over a year of living together. To think that a year ago I hadn’t even really known these people and now I was having a hard time imagining my life without them in it was crazy. We’ve adjusted to life not with one another 24/7 but we stay in touch and it is so good to know that even tough we aren’t together all the time we are still a family, just a family spread apart. It has actually been good because I’ve gotten to hang out with a few people since we’ve come home and that has been so good.
Life back in Indiana has been restful, and fun. It has been so good to spend time with everyone back home and catch up with their lives over the past year. Everyone has enjoyed filling me in on all the things I missed while I was away. From funny commercials to local happenings that I knew nothing about. I’ve had some good time to reflect on this past year of life and to rest and relax and it has been good.
What’s next, you may ask? Well, that has been an interesting series of events. When I got off the plane for my layover in Detroit and saw Teresa and Dave (sister and brother in law) for a bit Teresa said she might have a job for me. I wasn’t totally sure about this as I was figuring they would want me to start rather soon and I knew I needed at least until January to regroup and process the last year of life. I decided that I would go ahead and fill out the application and if God wanted me to have this job I would see where it lead. Turns out they weren’t going to need me until after the first of the year so it seemed perfect. Here I will make a long story short. That job didn’t come to be because they didn’t have the increase in enrollment they had planned on and a few other options came about but ultimately I ended up at another KinderCare center with a position teaching 2 and 3 year olds. This position is up in the Detroit area where Teresa and David live though so I am moving up there. (in fact I start this week)
While I see this as a temporary placement while I figure out life in the long term a little more it is a good situation to be in. I will be living with Teresa and David, there are some other racers nearby, the job is working with kids which I love, and the job pays pretty well and has insurance which is a perk I haven’t had in a long time (minus the race since I had to have it).
I can’t tell you what life looks like more long term right now because God hasn’t revealed that to me yet. I can tell you that this year God broke my heart for orphans and that I have a heart and passion for working with them. I want them to know that even though they may have been in a place where they weren’t loved and they don’t feel loved, that they are beautiful and lovable and that they have a heavenly father who loves them more than they can ever know and that there are people in this world who know they are amazing, and beautiful children with a future. So I know that somewhere in my future God has me working with orphans and neglected kids, but that is all I know right now.
So there you go, life post race thus far. I do hope that you stick with me and keep reading from time to time. Like I said I have plans to post more about this year and to keep you updated on how the Lord is working in my life even now after the race. I have a feeling that my processing isn’t over yet and that he will reveal more things to me as time goes by. I want to thank you all for reading along with me through the year and for all your prayers and support. I have been blessed to have you be a part of this journey with me.
