The Downside

There are certain things about moving to a new city, starting a new job, making new friends and essentially starting a new life that can be categorized as the downside.  I could not be more happy and blessed to be where God has placed me, but I can tell you that it's not all roses and rainbows.

I now call Minnesota home.  I love it here.  I love my job. friends. church. I love the Cities. the weather (mostly). the lakes. the skylines. the surplus of Target stores. the people.  Minnesota is a wonderful place, but there is always the downside.

With Minnesota as my new home, the people that I love are hundreds of miles away.  When I am "home" I forfeit the opportunity to be there for family fun times, the toothless smiles on the first day of 3rd grade, the packing up of my childhood home, the search for a new house that will be the place I come to visit, hugs from friends, random trips to Asian nail salons, shopping sprees to Sam's Club for cat litter and Cheerios, watching kids become teenagers, snuggles with cute cats, porch sitting with my grandparents, late night Scrabble domination and the smell of dad's coffee in the morning.  I miss these things.

In every wonderful opportunity, there is a great deal of sacrifice.  I realized this last weekend that I am sacrificing the joy and experiences of being around the ones that I love.  I can't say that it is easy, but it is worth it.  God is working in amazing ways in Minnesota.  Even though my heart hurts to be missing out on the memories, He is using me in ways that I couldn't have ever imagined.  Knowing that there are people hundreds of miles away who love me and are proud of how God is using me makes it easier to hear stories on the phone and cherish the long weekends that I spend with them.

God has blessed me with an amazing job that I absolutely love--a job that is flexible and offers generous vacation time. And He has given an amazing boss who encourages me to take time to visit with the ones that I love.  God is providing a way to give me the best of both worlds.  He is so faithful.