A Little Bit of Life

About three years ago I made a decision in my life to quit school and move to Charlotte to work full time with Wachovia(now Wells Fargo). About seven months later I began to wonder why I moved. I often felt saddened at the fact that I was not meeting anybody, hadn't heard from many people in Tallahassee, and that I was beginning to feel like a burden on my brother and sister as they now have their own families and need some time to themselves every once in awhile. Two months later after hard thought and prayer I made the decision to transfer back to Tallahassee and work while attempting to find a way back into FSU.

Now fast forward to today. I am now in a healthy, God centered relationship with an amazing woman, found out who my true friends really are and watched(some of them) mature in almost exactly three years. As most of you know, after much thought and prayer, I will be moving to Charlotte again this coming Saturday. However, this time I know that I will be much more happy. Samantha will be moving in with me(once we find a place to live) and not only will we get to spend time with family(not too much), but we will will also get to participate in the many wondrous things that Charlotte provides. Not only will we get to spend this time together, but a great friend of mine from high school and his family will be moving to Charlotte in June as well. We are all greatly looking forward to this time of transition as we know that this is truly what God wants. These past few days have been very stressful as is any major transition, but less for me and more so for Samantha. In fact, I think I may be starting to scare her as I often feel like she does not think I am taking this decision seriously as I continuously assure her that my laid back attitude is simply coming from that of already making this move once and knowing that everything will work out. Tomorrow will be spent contacting agents about the top 4 properties we are trying to rent and hopefully signing a lease. Although this whole "moving in together" thing may be new to me and while some may not approve, I am comforted knowing that our entire families approve of our decision.

When I think back to all the wondering I did about why I moved to Charlotte and why God wanted me there, I have finally found out.

Here are some reasons why:

1) I needed to escape from the bad relationships I had in Tallahassee and re-center my life around God.

2) I needed to know that even in a strange town, if surrounded by the right people I can enjoy my life.

3) To build professional experience in a city I can call home.

4) I needed to know that I do have real friends, it just takes some distance to realize who they are.

5) While God wants me there, He also wanted others I hadn't met yet in Tallahassee to come with me.

Since the end of October I have been frantically searching for a job and getting discouraged every time I got turned down for one. It wasn't until Samantha lost her job that I realized maybe this was a sign from God to go to a "foreign land" and make an impact on a community that needs Christ. While our decision may have seemed rushed, I can assure you(not that it's your business) that we have thought and prayed numerous times about this decision. While I will greatly miss Tallahassee and all of those who made it so wonderful, I must say that it is time for Tallahassee and I to part ways.

I look around at the friendships I have and as I have gotten older, not only have I taken note of those who are furthering their lives, I have also noticed that some of us are growing apart as well. Not because we don't like each other, but simply that we are growing up and not everybody lives in Tallahassee forever. People get better jobs, people move to be closer to family, some people just need a change of scenery. Every person has significant moments in their life starting with birth. It is usually somewhere in between graduation and beginning your career that you are faced with the decision of taking a leap of faith into a strange area to strive for success, or being "ok" with the way things have turned out rather than seeking the life you always wanted. As I see ourselves and our friends begin to go our separate ways, I know that we will never let distance come between us. All too often people use distance as an excuse as to not communicate with one another, or allow ourselves to forget the friendships we had with those we held so close. The more I think about how little people communicate once a friend's area code changes, the more I begin to think exactly what Alexander Graham Bell would say if he knew that despite the advances in his invention of the telephone, we still did not communicate to those we consider close to us because we simply cannot take 10 minutes out of our day to see how someone is doing. I say all of this to say that every one of you mean something to me. Some more than others, but I will do what I can to keep in touch with you all. I just ask that you do the same.

Hopefully the next post I put up here will be from our new place of residence in the Queen City... Charlotte, North Carolina.

"Sometimes we stare too long at the door that is closing that we see too late the one that is open." - Alexander Graham Bell