I'm here!

Well, I’m officially living in Chattanooga now! I drove down Sunday and surprised my friends a day earlier than they were expecting, so that I could go to church where they lead worship for an evening contemporary service. I’m so glad that I decided to do that, as it was such a HUGE relief to look around and be reminded that yes, I’m moving to a completely new place and yes, I’m starting a brand new job and becoming part of a new church family… but that despite all the newness, I’m still never going to be far from people that I love a lot. I think if I had gotten here today as planned, and jumped right into working, and paperwork, and moving in to my temporary living situation, then I would have sat on my bed in tears (although we were close a few times today).

I woke up yesterday and drove to the church, and talked with my boss, Pat about the house I’d be living in. It’s incredibly close to the church, so I can walk to work everyday… but I think I’ll start looking for an apartment soon. I think the sooner I can get into a more permanent place, the easier this transition will be for me. My friend Drew and his muscles came to help unload my car, which I was so grateful for and then he sat around and talked for a little bit. I’m sure he wanted to leave, but I was afraid that if he left me all alone, I’d sit in the middle of my boxes and the realization that I was really living 8 hours from home, would hit me and I’d freak out. I am so excited about this job. I am so excited about this church and living in Chattanooga. I can’t wait to see what the Lord has in store for this next chapter in my life, but for someone like me who has been terrified of change, this is all a little scary and overwhelming.

Yesterday was just kind of crazy.

Then last night I went over to Pat’s house for dinner to meet his family. He warned me that with 4 kids all under the age of 11, dinnertime can be kind of crazy, but it was a lot of fun. I’m looking forward to getting to know his family this year.

Today I'm just getting settled in the office and figuring out what my day to day will look like. It's been busy, but fun meeting a lot of new people :)