I have been waiting on an answer. In the waiting, I have learned what it means to stand in awe and reverence to Him and rest in His presence. I have learned amazing new ways to connect with Him through art, music, and the Word; but mostly, I have learned what it means to trust when it doesn’t seem like He’s giving an answer or His voice doesn’t feel present and it has strengthened me in ways I can’t even begin to describe.
We are nearly midway through ministry for Month 11 and I know everyone is wondering “What’s Next?” as much as I am. For a really long time I have not known the answer to that question and in some ways, I still don’t have one. Over the course of this year, my love for writing has grown even more, so I know that whatever is next will involve me writing in one way or another because it is a gift God has given me to use and share His glory with others. The answer as to “where” is clear in my heart, even though it requires oodles of faith along with expressing needs to my friends and family back at home.
So this is it, drum roll please:
I will be coming home on July 25th from Houston, Texas and I will be flying into Boston to be picked up by a close friend of mine. I will be busing home from Boston on the 26th to reunite with my parents in Manchester, New Hampshire. I’m hoping to get things squared away with freelance writing within a few days of being home and I created an account on care.com so I can begin to look for nannying jobs starting in September or October in Manchester. Aside from His promise to provide all I need in my next season, that’s about all I have right now. There are plenty of other avenues to continue looking into while I am home, too, but the thing I know is that I am coming home and I will be staying for a season.
The decision to return home was not, by any means, easy. In my quiet time today, I wrote the word “Home” in bold letters with a mountain and blue sky in the backdrop – after days and days of feeling conflicted between two opportunities (one of them being home) – I just knew at the bottom of my heart that for my next season, I need to be at home. It took a whole page until I was able to scribble these words down without really realizing it: “I love traveling, but I am ready to build community wherever I happen to find myself and I think I need to do that at home in New Hampshire for a while.”
Whether being at home is a long or short season is completely up to the Lord. Ministry opportunity is everywhere and I know that the Lord is working in my little corner of the world I like to call home because that little corner, by God’s grace, got me to this point every step of the way.
This may seem like a pretty anticlimactic “next step” after such a wonderful year of doing something I really, deeply love. But what I do does not define my identity as a Daughter of Christ, beautiful, seated at the right hand, dearly loved, and chosen by God. This isn’t the end of my journey here, I feel it in my bones. It’s never the end.
With all of that being said, I have one need the Lord has been pressing on me to share for quite some time now. At home, we only have two cars. My parents both use our vehicles to get to work, so this naturally leaves me without a car. I’m looking for anything, but preferably an automatic. If you know someone who is looking to sell a decent car, someone who is good at getting deals on cheaper cars, or are looking for your car to have a home, please let me know by emailing me or contacting me through Facebook Message. Having a car will help me get out of the house, will allow me to explore my new home and find community in Manchester, as well as find a way to friends who live close-by so we can catch up over breakfast, lunch, or dinner.
So that’s what’s up. Let me know if you have any questions, want to catch up when I am home, or want to help me out upon my arrival home with anything that may come to mind. I’m really looking forward to reconnecting, hearing about what God has done in your lives this year, and sharing everything that God has done in mine, too!
All my Love,
Ashley
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