When I think about that question several different events come to mind…each that transformed a different part of me. But, if I have to pick just one event from my long life of 25 years I would have to say my move to Nashville. Getting diagnosed with a serious muscle disease my junior year of college comes in a very close second though.
I realize it sounds slightly cliche but I truly feel that moving to Nashville wasn’t just starting a new chapter in life, it was starting a whole new volume in the series. It was a culmination of lessons and a beginning of others all at the same time.
Honestly, even now as I write this I don’t feel like I quite have the words to sum it up. It was the first time I really felt like I was living by faith. It was the first time I truly experienced the unexplainable peace and joy that comes with walking in obedience to God’s calling.
But when I really stop and think about it, I’m not sure it transformed me as much as it returned me to who I really was…the me that had gotten lost…the me that I had surrendered to the pressures of the world.
Whether it was a transformation or returning to or somewhere in between, all that matters is I am a different person than I was a year ago. I approach life with a different attitude and perspective. When I try to wrap my mind around the goodness and greatness of God in a moment it completely overwhelms me. I know without a doubt that I am living the life He has for me in this season. And it’s beautiful.
A few years ago, I was praying to better learn to love those who are not already my loved ones, I was asked to lead the resettling of a refugee family from a Thailand camp to our area. The entire experience was incredible, but meeting them at the airport, I realized I was in a place I'd never been. From the moment I saw them, I loved them, and we didn't even speak a word of the same language. Our paths crossed last summer and the bond remains. I am excited to see how experiences like this in my life have brought me to a place of opportunity I never expected, and I am excited to see what the next weeks and month hold!
I LOVE this, Sherri! Thanks so much for sharing!!! Have you talked to the family since last summer?
They live north of us, and have since changed addresses. I've tried to do everything I can to make sure they will always know where to find us through letters, but communication is rare from them. I did once receive a sweet, hand-delivered thank you note with beautiful embroidered wallhangings she had made. I imagine that this young family, who started from scratch are busy and working extremely hard, based on the time we had with them. When I last saw the mom at a local farmers market our excitement was uncontainable. For a moment, I think she forgot to be shy about her ESL, and we were back in the "who needs a common language" mode. Wish I could see them regularly, but never figured out how to accomplish that.