transition

Today I will pack up the rest of my things and move home.  I have been in college and graduate school for six and a half years; in that time, I have lived in nine different places away from home.  Nine!  I’ve had eighteen different roommates.  That is only counting the girls I shared a room with in the sorority house, not all the girls in the house.  I got along with all of them; I should be able to get along with anyone by now.  Every few months, it feels natural to look for a new place to live, pack up my things, and move.  But this time is different.  I am moving home with no plans to leave.  I will graduate in five months and find a job.  My hope is that I find a job in Raleigh and continue living at home until I save enough money to buy a house.  When will that be?!  It’s going to take a while, so here I go to move and stay.  I’m looking forward to having all of my earthly possessions in one place.  I plan to get organized and get rid of stuff.  (All this moving makes me aware of and sickened by just how much stuff I have accumulated.)  I already have friends that live near my new place.  There is a dog, but I know she won’t chew up my stuff.  (Who knew that the dog I begged for when I was eleven years old would be the dog I come home to after graduate school?!)  This time, I know it’s going to work out with my roommates.

I’ve been looking forward to this transition for so long.  Especially during graduate school, God keeps reminding me of the truth in Proverbs 16:9 - In his heart a man plans his course, but the Lord determines his steps.  At each transition, I think I know what lies ahead.  I’ve planned to go here or there and study this or that, but God has surprised me around every corner. When I started college, did I expect to get my master’s degree and become a speech-language pathologist?  Did I think I would go to graduate school at all?  When I lived in the sorority house, did I plan to meet a new friend from Oklahoma who would become my sister in law? No!  I’m so thankful that the Lord determines my steps because He knows better and He blesses me with every transition.  So to Raleigh we go.  Please, Lord, let me stay there, but Your will be done, and keep the surprises coming.