One Year Later

One year ago today, I left behind my beloved, ocean-embraced Florida—as well as the family and friends she contains—and got on a plane going to Indianapolis, with no return ticket. It wasn’t necessarily a sad day (how can you be sad when you’re traveling with a 10 month old and worrying about leaky diapers and nursing in public?) but the days and months to come were certainly full of sadness and homesickness.

When Brandon, all those months ago, casually asked me what I thought about Indianapolis and how I might feel about living there, I never in a million years thought we would actually end up here. Seriously. In fact, had I known just where this was going (or where we were going) I certainly would have given a different response. Something more along the lines of what I have said about Detroit. (No offense to those of you who live there or love it.)

The past year has been difficult yet blessed. One year ago I knew no one in this city, and now we are blessed with many wonderful friends and playmates for Anna. One year ago I couldn’t imagine how I was going to make it through the next month, let alone the next year. But here I am. Despite the long and dreadful winter, summer is here once again.

I’m so glad that God has designed the seasons to echo the passage of time in our lives. Though we miss our loved ones who are far away, we are happy here. Not perfectly happy (life still has its ups and downs; after all, no one is perfect), but thoroughly content—something I couldn’t even imagine being one year ago. It reminds me of a song by one of my favorite singer/songwriters, Nichole Nordeman:

What was frozen through is newly purposed
Turning all things green
So it is with You
And how You make me new
With every season’s change
And so it will be
As You are re-creating me
Summer, autumn, winter, spring