Growing.

It's the end of another school year, and I can now say I have taught for 4 years in my own classroom. This is a calling to do both what I am passionate about and gifted to do, and I love, love, love it. It has always been challenging to be doing this in a state with zero family. And let's be real: feeling alone is hard.

There have been plenty of times I've been upset about being here, shed tears, and even wondered what it'd be like if things had gone differently. There are times I get frustrated that we don't know more people or have more friends here in the same city. Sometimes I just get sad. I'm blessed by the thought that I have some dear friends that still live in the state, but the reality of our lives is that our responsibilities and demands on time keep us apart more often than we'd like. It's pretty much the same as if they didn't live here. Someone shared an article called "16 things only people who live far away from their families will understand" on Facebook a while ago, and 1) the lack of proper capitalization in the title is driving me bananas and 2) so many of the things in it are spot on. You can read it right here.

I also know that this is exactly where God wanted me to be. When I look at how things played out for both of these teaching jobs, it's funny how God really made it fool proof that these were the jobs for me. And of course there was getting Squirt, meeting Tim and Danny, marrying that handsome man, and starting our life together here in this house. We have met some great people along the way, and none of this would have happened without moving here. Plus we have so much fun showing our family this little corner of the world when they come to visit. We're constantly finding new things to do here!

These blessings don't always feel as special when I am lonesome for our family, but we have their support and encouragement. I love where I work and have met some pretty amazing people in multiple schools here. It helps that this is my calling. It helps that my husband gets to do what he loves every day. It helps that we've made this a home. Oh, and it helps that Nebraska is so, so beautiful.

"Grow where you're planted," a friend of mine shared during chapel one day. It isn't always easy, but growing is exactly what we're doing each and every day.