A year ago, my hometown was getting ravaged by Hurricane Florence. It was a time that everyone who lived in Wilmington will not forget. The unknown, the fear, the anxiety, the pain was at record highs for me. The thought of my home being destroyed, this area that I grew up in, this town that I have fallen in love with multiple times, was too much to handle. It was more than just a physical hurricane that was moving through my life; it was the representation of the storm in my life.
This time a year ago is a time I will not forget anytime soon. These past few days I have really been reflecting on this past year. If you asked me a year ago where I thought I would be currently, I would have told you that I would be close to proposing to my girlfriend at the time. I would be a Yamaha Outboard Mechanic making really good money. I would be preparing for my future family. That’s what I wanted, right? A good job, a beautiful girlfriend, a ring in my pocket, living on my own, and a dog (cause who doesn’t want a dog?) Well, I am nowhere even close to having any of that.
This past year has been hard. Heartbreak, sickness, loss, pain, confusion, hope, joy, and peace have all been so present. These emotions have left me raw – each one has been so real. I have been and still am in this place where I feel so much at times. The other night I was in prayer, and just speaking Jesus’s name just brought tears to my eyes. It is so easy to look at Jesus and see him only as our Lord, but it is just as easy to forget that he was also fully man. He felt and experienced the world just as we did during his life. Hebrews 2:18 talks about Jesus’s suffering, the sufferings when He was being tempted while in the desert. It is so easy to forget that he is truly and fully man while he is also fully God at the same time. Jesus felt everything: He felt the nails being driven into his hands, He felt the betrayal of Judas, He felt the joy of having the children with him, He felt the love of His mother. Jesus is just like you and I, and it is so easy to forget that.
There has been so much this year. Just being able to take time and reflect on it has been very much-needed for me recently. Seeing the goodness of God and His continuous work in my life for this past year has been so encouraging. It has given me a hope for the future. I know where I am now is exactly where God wants me to be. The coolest thing about it is that I am ok with that! I am ok with being single for the next 2+ years of my life. I am ok with possibly 5+ years from being married. I am ok with dropping everything and traveling the world! I am more than ok with where I am at, and I am beyond ecstatic for where I am also.
May the road rise to meet you.
May the wind be always at your back.
May the sun shine warm upon your face.
And rains fall soft upon your fields.
And until we meet again,
May God hold you in the hollow of His hand.
My old cross-country coach use to pray this over us at every race we would race. It is something that I have always held close to my heart. I don’t know where I will be next year. I don’t know who I will be yet. I don’t know who will be around me. But I do know that I will be in the palm of God’s hand, and that is exactly where each one of us are called to be. The storms will come and they will be fierce. But I know that I will be with God and that is exactly where I need to be.
