Steps of the Called

It’s really amazing to me how quickly this year is flying by! It seems like just yesterday I was counting down the days before coming here, and now here I am, 10 months into this journey, making preparations to return home. So here it is, the official announcement:

I will be returning to Atlanta on Saturday, January 25^th!

That’s right. Two months from today, I’ll be home!

When I began this journey and committed to serving here for one year, I honestly expected that to be a conservative estimate. I kind of had this idea that I’d get here and never want to go home. (I’m also aware that many other people in my life were expecting the same thing.) And although I have loved (and am still loving) my time here, over the last few months God has changed my heart and mind. He has led me to make the decision to return home to the states. Fears that I would be letting people down, both here and at home, and worries that my supporters would be disappointed in me, made this a very difficult decision for me. But God, in His infinite grace, has used a variety of circumstances, encouragement from many of you, and reminders in scripture to affirm in my heart and mind that I’m called to be obedient to Him and to focus on pleasing God, not man. 

This year has been amazing for me in a variety of ways, and I wouldn't trade it for anything! But it seems that God is pointing my next steps in different direction, and I’m going to trust Him. I don’t know yet what comes next for me, and that’s okay. God knows, so I don’t have to worry. It’s actually quite freeing to be able to rest in that knowledge.  

It is a little bittersweet, since the countdown to coming home also means a countdown to leaving. Leaving is going to be hard. It almost always is. But for now, I’m going to focus on making the most of my last two months here and look forward to sweet reunions with friends and family that will be here before we know it!