a year later...

So I realized that it was one year ago this weekend that I left Birmingham. Years go by a lot quicker than they used to.

I thought about trying to explain in this post a little of what I was feeling or a little of what led to me leaving, but honestly so much has changed in the last year, that I just don't care to dwell on those things. It's not that those things don't matter, they do, and they're a big part of what has brought me to this point. They're just not worth enumerating in a blog post.

God has been really gracious toward me over the last year. I didn't think I would like it here. I honestly don't think I expected to find much of a life here, but God has given me more life in Philadelphia than I would have dared to hope for. I don't use the word much, but I really am awed by what He's led me to here and I think those things are definitely worth enumerating. God's given me a church that I'm growing to love, and a community of people that are open to doing the same. I was on a membership retreat for the church this weekend, and had so much fun beginning to forge what I hope will be meaningful relationships with such beautiful new friends. God's given me a job that's challenging. This past couple of weeks I've had to bust my tail to try to create and concept my own ideas for commercials and promos... and my ideas and concepts have been bad. I've felt like I'm terrible at my job... but I don't feel defeated. I'm a little down for sure... but for the first time I sort of understand what all the athlete guys I hung around in college talked about when they said they needed their coach to "rub their noses in the dirt and tell them how much of a sissy they were." It's making me better. It's making me not settle for my first idea, or not to settle for an easy development of that idea. I'm learning. God's given me new friends, and hopefully if all goes well a new place to live that's so close to all of them, in a neighborhood that I've loved from my first trip there. And I'm not sure if this is what tops it all off or if it's the ingredient that's mixed in throughout and makes all those things so sweet, but either way I'm so grateful that God has given me an amazing relationship with Haley...who really is the coolest person I've ever known.

God has been unbelievably gracious toward me, and I've seen that most clearly this past year. I've taken to not writing much personal stuff on here... but I'd be amiss not to, at least this once, in light of unbelievable year God's given me.