my 4th "nashiversary"

it’s been four years since i made the 500-mile journey to start a new life here in nashville. as with any decision, i had my own set of expectations as to how things would turn out. where i would work, live, play, get my coffee fix. and all of those places have changed throughout the past four years, which is a good thing. we need change in our lives, even if it’s as simple as which coffee shop we frequent. and some things started out just like i expected. some didn’t. and some have been a little back and forth. but i do know that every moment of the past four years has added to this great chapter of my life. i don’t know when it will end, and frankly i’m not ready for it to. life in nashville has not always been easy, but it was during those hard times that i learned the most about myself, and more importantly, when i discovered my strengths god’s strengths at work in my life.

as i write this, nashville is under the threat of flash-flooding. the cumberland river is expected to crest to flood stage. though not nearly as devastating as the flooding we experienced only three months ago (where the river crested twelve feet above flood stage), it is certainly bringing back memories of that time. a time when i have never felt more at home here. a time when community was defined.

of course, i have seen community come to life in other places in nashville as well. whether it’s helping someone move, preparing for the arrival of a baby, asking life’s toughest questions over coffee, or being brought to tears over the honest truth of lost desire. community is alive in nashville and in my life. the past four years have turned out to be more than i ever expected. life is not full of mistakes or coincidences. god is not capable of such a thing. this is my home. the summer before i moved here i was interning with the mercy house in anderson, indiana. we had a few guests come teach us over the summer, and at the moment i cannot remember the name of the man who said this, but his words remain true: our goal as christians should be that we make our neighborhood better because we are in it. that is my prayer for the rest of my time in this city, however long that may be.

i realize these thoughts are all kind of jumbled together and that this is not the most cohesive thing i have written. but sometimes my thoughts are processed easier when written as they come