I’ve had at least 5 people in the past week tell me I need to blog more. I honestly didn’t expect many people to read this on a regular basis, but I’m honored to know that you do! So, thanks friends for stopping by my cyber world to check in on Skaggs news. It definitely makes me feel loved!
Josh and I headed back to Columbia last week to drop off our dog (*tear*). We had been trying to move to an RV park closer to the city, but when we found out we had a spot, they told us they wouldn’t take us with a big dog…maybe I should have said we had a small horse instead- less intimidating. So, on Josh’s week off, we headed back to SC to find a home for our pup until we returned from this adventure.
We had only been gone for 2 weeks at that point, but pulling into Columbia felt so weird. I was driving on the same roads I always drive on and saw the same stores and took the same routes- it just felt different this time. It kind of felt like I didn’t belong there anymore. In a sense I don’t (at least not for this portion of time), but I still had a little twinge of sadness as I realized that this place isn’t home to me right now. This place that has been my home for 25 years is just another city.
I wouldn’t say that’s a bad thing, though. While it makes me sad at times to feel removed from familiar places, it’s good for me. It pushes me to be more intentional with what I appreciate and to pay more attention to the lifestyle I’m in now. Ok, for example, I dreaded going to the grocery store in Columbia. One of my least favorite chores. Here, it’s exciting, because it’s new! There are new people, new products, new everything! And, as the extreme introvert that I am, I used to just get the job done and go home. I think I have talked to more people in the grocery stores here than I probably ever did back in SC. Is that really how I want my life to be? Keep my head down and keep moving to get the job done? I am forced to move outside my comfort zone in this new city, because I don’t know what I’m doing and I do need the extra help. I talk to random strangers because that is the extent of my human interaction. I don’t have friends who just pop over to say hello or go to dinner with a different person every night (not that I did that before, but I at least had the option). That’s just the point: I don’t have the option. If I’m going to have friends in the different places we go, I have to find them. I have to seek them out, go up to them, ask them to hang out, call them, text them, etc. Introverted me is scared to death to do this, because it’s uncomfortable and it takes a lot of effort on my part. Then again, maybe it took a lot of effort on my friends’ parts in Columbia to come up to me. And if they hadn’t done that in the first place, my world would desperately be lacking some amazing relationships.
Going back for the week helped me realize something to a greater degree: I am unbelievably blessed by so many people. I saw people for breakfast, lunch, and dinner pretty much everyday we were there. Every person I met with, I realized more and more how much I truly appreciate that they are in my life! Even people who I don’t know very well seemed extra special to me. I like this new perspective, because that’s how I should have viewed these people all along! I’ve always loved the people around us, but I know I’ve taken it for granted. A lot of people don’t have the quality friends and family that Josh and I have. We have servants, providers, care-takers, interceders, challengers, and encouragers in our midst. How could we not be grateful?
So, to each- and I do mean each- person we saw and more, thank you for being incredible to us, for being strong and faithful in this relationship, and for caring beyond the natural tendency. You are more appreciated now than ever, and I hope we are able to show you that more fully.
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