Ever take a weekend for yourself?

That’s exactly what I did these past couple of days. And man, was it good for me! I hadn’t been feeling my best in the couple of weeks prior so I knew I wanted to take some time alone doing something I love, to refresh & renew. And while I did, I was able to feel God’s presence stronger than I have in quite a long time! It was just what I needed.

Earlier in the week I hopped on Airbnb to look for affordable options for a one night stay somewhere not too far from me. After researching some nearby cities and talking to people who’ve lived here in Colorado much longer than I have, I decided to take a visit to Leadville: the highest incorporated city in North America! I found cheaper lodging in Salida, another beautiful city only an hour or so south of Leadville, and drove there after work on Friday. The views on the way there were indescribable, and pictures could never do them justice. I blasted my favorite music with the windows down, which of course is the only way to road trip! After arriving to the Airbnb, I realized that I could not have found a better place to stay. It was a little off-the-grid type cabin with all around views of the mountains. It was stunning; there I was able to spend time praying & reading my Bible in a new setting, which gave me a fresh appreciation for my daily quiet time. The next morning I woke up early and headed north!

I started with a nice breakfast at a little cafe in Buena Vista, then went straight to the trailhead for the hike I planned to do. It was the most perfect day for a hike and even with altitude ranging from about 10,000-11,000ft, I managed to make it to the lake & back within a couple of hours. I then took some time to explore the city, visiting some of the shops & local hangouts. When it came time to head home, I decided to take the scenic route through the mountainous cities of Breckenridge and Frisco since I had yet to see that part of the state. I made it back in time for Saturday night service at church, which was the best way to end my retreat of serenity & renewal.

I encourage everyone reading this to make this kind of time for yourself! Maybe you’re not the kind of person to spend a night somewhere unfamiliar by yourself, but at least spend a day doing something you enjoy (and having some good food in the process!) with no distractions from social media, work, or whatever gets you hung up sometimes. I’m absolutely going to prioritize doing this every couple of months now because the effects are priceless.

God is just PLANE good

So I’m currently sitting at Denver International Airport with a final destination of HOME, aka Virginia where I’ll get to see my uncle marry the love of his life at their wedding on Monday. The funny part is that 9 hours ago I was at my local airport in Colorado Springs, with the expectation of arriving home a little later tonight. Obviously, that didn’t end up happening.

A while after having boarded the plane, we were all told that there was a mechanical issue and no estimate of time for it to be fixed. We waited patiently for continued announcements, which unfortunately ultimately resulted in finding out that the issue was worse than they originally realized. We were then given the option to get off the plane. At this point I had no idea what to do, so I did what I’m sure many young adults would: I called my dad. He advised me to make the best decision I could after seeing what my options for other flights would be since I would surely miss my connection.

Now here’s where I started seeing God enter my story of the day. I called the airline’s 800 number (dreading what I thought would be a terrible wait) and was unexpectedly answered (by an actual human!) in less than a minute. The man on the phone was truly so helpful. Halfway through our conversation and him checking alternate flights for me, all of us were called to deplane. Thank God I was ahead of the curve by calling the airline because I was able to set up a new flight route in no time.

Once I got off the plane and approached the counters to receive my new boarding passes, I realized that there were no representatives to be found from my airline. All of us were wandering around aimlessly until I found just one employee to direct me to a specific gate to wait for him. Because of this, I was the very first person in line as it continued to grow behind me with dozens of frustrated flyers waiting to figure out a new flight plan. What grace I was given to have been able to book something new on the phone in a matter of minutes (while everyone around me was scrambling to get ahold of someone) and to be the the first person in line to be helped!

Since my new flight was in Denver over an hour away, I called my roommate Amy asking if she could pick me up and take me back home so I could get my car and drive up north. BLESS HER for being the kindhearted friend she is, because she immediately dropped what she was doing and offered to drive me herself so I wouldn’t have to leave my car here. Once we got on the road, the fun really began & I forgot all about the drama I had a few hours earlier. We drove with the windows down, music blasting, taking in the most beautiful Colorado views. The coolest part of all of this was the adorable little cafe we found to eat at. We soon realized that this restaurant was North Carolina themed! They had a pin board of the state to show where you’re from, and a cute logo shaped like NC with the classic Colorado logo inside. What a wonderful taste of home to have shared together on such a spontaneous day.

Even though I’m about to get a whopping 0 hours of sleep catching this redeye tonight, I can’t rave enough about the way God showed off for me today. In a situation where I easily could’ve gotten stressed & upset, He eased all my concerns through the speedy assistance of an airline agent on the telephone, a prime spot in line, & the selflessness of a sweet friend. I’m so thankful for the peace that the Lord gave me today and I cannot wait to make it home to my family for a few days full of love.

Carolina Girl in a Colorado World

Just a quick life update now that this Carolina girl is living in a Colorado world…

My dad and I made it into the city a day early, which turned out to be the biggest blessing ever because we spent all of Monday running around getting a bunch of things checked off of our to-do list. If you were to ask him, he’d tell you that I’d been dreading our day of wrestling with the DMV (and other things one has to do when moving 1,800 miles away) for weeks because I just knew something(s) would go wrong. And they did. But God is so faithful, because each time something would go differently than planned, we seemed to catch a break right after. I’ll spare you the full story of each place we had to visit, but if you’ve ever moved out of your state I’m sure you have an idea of all the things we had to do. Here’s just a glimpse of one way the Lord showed us great favor yesterday:

When going to the third DMV of the day to get my car title transferred & vehicle registered, we found out after an hour of waiting our turn that we needed the title notarized. We had one hour until the DMV closed at 5pm to accomplish this. Mind you, at this point we had not eaten a bite or even had a drink of water since 7am, so our patience was short & our frustration (and dehydration) high. Lucky for us, one of only two Navy Federals in this huge city happened to be a very short drive away. We got the notarization done there in no time and were given “head of the line” privileges which allowed us to successfully complete the registration. Despite a few other unforeseen stresses of the day, we were able to see God in it all and thank Him for His provision through a seriously busy first day.

By the end of the day I was able to get my utilities turned on, obtain the keys to my new apartment (which has the most beautiful mountain view ever, shown below!), get a Colorado license, register my vehicle & get Colorado plates, stop by my base to pick up paperwork, transfer my prescriptions, and even enjoy a nice nature walk & delicious dinner to top it all off. Today all of my belongings arrived, so the next few days we’ll be unpacking boxes and getting my apartment organized slowly but surely until my dad leaves on Saturday. My mom is awesome too and was kind enough to take care of my cat Abel for me while I’ve been out here! She’ll be bringing him to the airport on Saturday as well for him to take a flight out to me. I’m praying that the temperatures stay in the right range so I can have him here with me as soon as possible! I’m definitely trying to soak in these last few days until I start my internship and really start doing big girl things. I honestly still can’t quite believe that this isn’t just a vacation and I don’t have to leave!

“Now all glory to God, who is able, through his mighty power at work within us, to accomplish infinitely more than we might ask or think.” Ephesians 3:20

How I Got Where I’m Going

When I first decided to accept the internship offer for the Military Extension Internship Program, I was bursting at the seams to share how God intervened in the most incredible way. Now that I finally have my blog “up & running,” I’d love to tell a little bit of how I got where I’m going.

For my university, I’m required to complete an internship to finish my degree in Recreation, Sport Leadership, and Tourism Management. This meant that I would be spending weeks on weeks wondering where I would accomplish this, & hours on hours applying to 20+ internship and job opportunities across the country. I made a spreadsheet to keep track of all of the applications I sent out, when I was supposed to hear back from each of them, and where they were located. For quite some time I had imagined myself moving to Colorado for the internship, so despite the circumstances I decided to find & apply to as many places there as I could. Amongst a few other interviews from different states, I had two Skype interviews for city recreation internships in the ski towns of Colorado. The first ended up being a hit & miss, as I wasn’t offered the position. I remember being disappointed, but not too discouraged, as I had the second opportunity to still hear back from. Between this time I was also waiting to hear back from a few other places that not only weren’t in my list of top destinations, but also didn’t quite match my career goals. There were many moments where I broke down before God asking for discernment about where He might be calling me, as I vowed to go wherever He would send me, even if I did not want to. I reached out to different people many times for prayer during this situation because I had never felt so directionless & in need of clarity. I don’t think I’ll ever forget that season of utter confusion, worry, but also exhilaration of not knowing where on Earth I would be just a few months later.

I nervously pushed off a couple of internship opportunities as I waited to hear back from the second Colorado ski town, which I considered my “first choice” at the time amongst the internships I had interviewed with. The date for informing us about the decision got pushed back multiple times, so you can imagine the anxiety that continued to arise during that particular week. Finally I was told that I would receive notice one way or another on March 13th, so that Tuesday morning I drove to the beach for sunrise (pictured above!) coming before the Lord for peace and comfort no matter what the decision would be. I went to school afterward like any normal day & tried to maintain my cool as I stared at my phone waiting for a congratulations call, or a “we’re sorry” email. What I got that morning was something totally different.

I was working on a group project in an empty classroom when I got the email. Not from the ski town, but from the coordinator of the Military Extension Internship Program. I had applied to this program back in January, and was told to expect calls for interviews at a time which had already passed–therefore, I assumed I was no longer a candidate being considered since I had not heard anything. Regardless & sure enough, there in my inbox was the email saying I had been selected to be an intern for the Air Force at Peterson AFB, CO. While we could list our preferences on the application, we were not guaranteed placement at any particular base. But God poured His endless favor upon me & blessed me with the chance to go to my number one location of Colorado. I genuinely was in disbelief, yet had the most overwhelming sense of stillness in my heart knowing this was exactly where the Lord wanted me to be. I spent the fall months prior doing some soul-searching about what I wanted to do with my career and how I wanted to serve others. After this course of time I began seeing how God was amplifying my passion & appreciation for the military community, so I sought out internship opportunities which related to this. The MEIP was the only one I found which would fit my needs, so when I hadn’t heard back I thought maybe I had somehow heard God wrong, or maybe He was just having me wait. So when I received this opportunity, at a particular time where I was waiting for a completely different outcome, not to mention in the place where I wanted to move to so badly, I had never felt so sure of a decision before–and I’m the worst at making decisions! The Lord gave me the peace to be so confident in this decision that I immediately quit everything I was doing and sent back the agreement papers accepting the position before I had even heard back from the ski town internship. Believe it or not, later in the day I got the call that I was in fact being offered that position with their city recreation department. If I had received the MEIP email just a day or even several hours later, I would have ended up with the other internship instead since I thought that was what was best for me. But God in all his perfect timing and provision had a better plan for me. While turning it down was not easy after having spent weeks praying for what I thought was the right opportunity for me, I haven’t looked back since because I know where I am now is exactly where I’m supposed to be.

Two and a half months later I’m sitting in my hotel nearing the end of my internship orientation in Arlington, VA where I got to meet my mentor from Peterson AFB, interact with the other interns placed around the country, and learn more about what this program will entail. I fly back home tomorrow night and will be leaving for my road trip to Colorado with my dad at dark-thirty the next morning. I’ll be moving into an apartment with one of my best friends who so courageously decided to take this journey out west with me, with the support of an entire community in Virginia and North Carolina behind me cheering me on no matter how far I may be. Albeit lengthy, I hope this snapshot of my story encourages at least one person to continue trusting in the Lord in your pursuit of His will, because you just might find yourself somewhere more beautiful than your wildest dreams.

Colorado, I’m coming for you!

A First Calling

Just two years ago, I had decided to switch from a Criminology major to an Oceanography major. Seeing as I ended up getting my degree in Recreation & am moving to the mountains, it’s obvious that didn’t last very long. When I first became a Recreation major, I really had no clue what I wanted to do in the field. There are countless options of career paths to get into with the major I finally decided on, & for a while I was lost trying to narrow them down. A beautiful friend of mine by the name of Brooke (the same friend who let me stay with her as I mentioned in my “Going All In For Jesus” post) told me a little bit about her job as a counselor at the YMCA when we lived together over the summer of 2017. At the time my practicum was about to be over & I was going to be left without a job for the remainder of the summer. To make a long story short, I ended up getting hired as a Camp Counselor and ended up transitioning into an Afterschool Counselor position shortly thereafter.

I’ve always loved kids, but I had never really considered a career that involved working with them daily. With my part-time position with the Y, I quickly realized that I genuinely enjoyed the job each & every day. Even when I was in the worst mood, coming into work & being with our kids made me leave all my cares & concerns behind. Because of that job (& Brooke’s influence which got me there), I discovered a first calling on my life by the Lord to pursue a career that impacted the lives of children.

Since then I’ve also discovered that my area of passionate ministry is the military community. My upcoming internship will allow me to serve children in military families through recreational & educational opportunities as well as through general loving care. When I received my offer for this internship, in my state of choice no less, it confirmed to me all that I believed God was calling me to do. And it all started with that initial Camp Counselor gig that made me realize the joy I so easily find every time I’m around our youngest generation.

Today was my last day of work at the YMCA, at least here in Wilmington. I found myself tearing up at the thought of the fact that I’ll likely never see any of our kids again, and full-on crying when I saw the most wonderful sign on the wall with a goodbye note written from each of them. Those elementary schoolers may not even remember me when they get older, but boy I wish they knew how much they mean to me. It took nowhere near the entirety of my eight months spent with them to realize that I want to keep impacting the lives of our youth for years to come. I can’t even imagine being in the career fields I once thought were my perfect fit, which just goes to show that God knows me better than I know myself & He brought me exactly where I needed to be, when I needed to be there. Even though I’m going to miss the YMCA, my coworkers, & those kids immensely, I know that the Lord will provide new opportunities for me to pursue this call on my life throughout my internship & beyond.

Getting Rooted

Life requires Community & I found mine at Church.

As I’m starting to say my goodbyes in Wilmington, I’ve been reflecting on how blessed I am to have found multiple communities of people to support & encourage me. But the one I am so grateful for most recently is the one I found at Life Community Church. From the day I walked into “the church in the mall” searching for a place of worship to begin attending my senior year, I genuinely felt right at home. Since then I’ve grown to love the people, the praise, and the powerful delivery of countless encouraging messages from our pastor and the leadership team. Even though I’m slightly nervous to have to find a new church home, I’ll always remember how God showed up right when I needed Him to by bringing me into Life CC. I know He’ll do it again in Colorado!

Becoming an active part of my church helped my relationship with the Lord grow immeasurably more than I probably even realize. First, I started attending the early service every week. It didn’t take too long before I desired to get more involved (based on how happy it made me every Sunday) through becoming a part of the young adult ministry, serving in the children’s ministry during second service, and eventually beginning to give my weekly tithes. I could write an individual blog post about how each of these things has allowed God to blow me away, especially since I had gone so long without them in my life. I was so unaware of the joy I was missing out on, until I realized that the community I’d made at the church had given me so much of it.

But at the end of the day, no matter how involved you are at church, our salvation is not measured by our good deeds and participation. Because of Jesus, we have been set free from any kind of rule book in order to be in personal relationship with God. So while being part of a church community is a crucial aspect of nourishing that relationship, it doesn’t change how much God loves us already. Having been able to “get rooted” is the most valuable thing I’ve gained from becoming an active member of the church. When something is rooted, it is attached to something else which supports its growth by providing nourishment. That is exactly what I’ve gained from Life CC, and I can’t wait to see the long-term harvest to be reaped after getting to do this all over again.

Catch Amy & I church searching in Colorado Springs!!

When there’s two days of class left in your college career, you start a blog…

So this is something I’ve wanted to do for quite some time, but last week while at my church’s annual women’s conference “Flourish,” I felt prompted by God to put the urge into action. He emphasized to me the word SHARE, which is what I’m aiming to do in a simple way through this blog. I’ve always loved writing & chronicling my life in various ways (poetry, photography, etc.) so it’s only natural that at the beginning & end of two huge life events I have coming up, it’s the perfect time to start writing about my journey.

Even though I’m technically not graduating until after my summer internship is over, I’m participating in a “Celebration of Achievement Ceremony” at which I will get to walk the stage in cap & gown in recognition of completing all of my university classes. Since two of my best friends are also graduating, we of course had to spend a night decorating our caps. Despite the anxiety this caused my perfectionist self, we got it done with a little help from one another. I am so going to miss these nights together, hanging out at the apartment with our kitties running around, getting into everything. It’s moments like these where I thank God that He has placed me exactly where I am, with purpose, planned out long before I even knew who these beautiful friends of mine were.

I’m still not sure if it has really hit me that I’m leaving this lovely town in just a couple short weeks, or that a little over a month from now I’ll be (physically) leaving life as I know it behind me, and starting a brand new chapter 1,777 miles away. But as I’m reflecting on where I was in life three years ago, a new high school graduate, I realize that I’m an entirely different person than I was then, in the best way. I would have never pictured myself in a place like the one I’m about to move to–and I certainly couldn’t have predicted that I would find myself in an authentic, cherishable, and fulfilling relationship with the Lord. He has not only filled my heart with new desires & dreams bigger than I could’ve imagined on my own, but He’s moved mountains on my behalf. And that’s why through this unpredictable next phase in my life, I can’t even help but continue to keep my faith in Him.