Finding the Pieces

One week. I am moving to England in one week.

I’ve spent the last week trying to navigate the chaos of moving to another country. I’ve spent time trying to clean and pack. I’ve spent quite a bit of time with friends and family, saying last goodbye’s to many of them early. My family threw me a going away party last weekend. I’ll be spending most of this weekend both packing and saying goodbye to my church family here in Michigan.

But in the middle of all this, I continue to find myself in small moments of stillness. They seem to happen when I’m not rushing around to get things done: when I first wake up, when I’m in the car, or when I’m getting ready to go to bed. Moments when I have the time to breath and slow down, even if only for a little bit.

And though they only last a short while, I love that I keep finding them (or that they keep finding me). Because it is in these moments of peace that I find myself overwhelmed by the love and presence of God in all of this. Moving and starting grad school is stressful and scary. My time left in Michigan feels hectic and rushed. But through it all God keeps giving me these reminders that He is here. That he has always been here.

He was with me when I was seven and I first started telling people that I wanted to live in another country. He was there when people started telling me that I would change my mind. He was there when I thought those people were right. There when I stopped believing in myself. When I stopped believing in him.

He has been here with me in everything. So even though my life is changing, I am reminded daily that He will remain constant.