Fall break carries a lot of emotion and memories, as well as that reminder to not hold too closely to your plans. A year ago today, I spent the day preparing a prayer walk for a group of moms coming for a one day retreat on our beautiful New Song property. The trees displayed such a beautiful variety of colors, a Fall I had not experienced in many years since moving to Texas. I just soaked it all in and took so many pictures of what those moms would be coming to experience with us that weekend. I pre-walked through each station on their walk and prayed the verses they would be praying to God, their Shepherd. I so looked forward to co-leading that retreat with my teammate, to connecting with those moms, and to helping them connect more closely with God. The retreat had been on my calendar for awhile, and I had several other events written on my calendar for the next month.
Events I didn't get to participate in, just like the rest of Fall I did not get to experience my first year back in Indiana. God had an entirely different agenda planned for me as I rushed back to Texas the morning after the retreat to figure out a plan to care for my son while he recovered from a pretty serious biking accident. My calendar held a Fall Fest at my new church, a family weekend to celebrate my husband's Halloween birthday, a membership class at church, finishing up a four-week women's Bible study, and "celebrating" the success of our first Mom's retreat at New Song Mission. God's calendar for me held time with close friends back in Texas that I didn't get the chance to say goodbye to in the summer, time with family, an impromptu coffee date on a school day with my bestie from Texas, the chance to celebrate with both of my boys on their milestone birthdays (21 and 25), and a lot of extra time to bond with my "baby boy".
So, I learned to find a different relationship with the calendar, and though I like to fill it up with plans, I know that God may have different plans for me. Needless to say, I struggled to write any solid plans on my calendar for Fall break this year. That could be why I'm such a last minute planner these days. Sometimes that works out for me, sometimes it doesn't. But God blessed me over the last week with reminders that He is working out something beautiful in my life and doesn't overlook a single detail. He truly does order all our steps and puts us in just the right place at just the right time.
Friday night I went out for a walk, and just as I got to the stop sign to turn around, a car turned the corner and then slowed down. The driver rolled down the window to wave hello, and I realized it was two of my coworkers driving back home after a dinner out. Perfect timing!
As I walked back, I walked past a church sign that the neighbors had put out in their yard, along with garage sale signs I had seen all week advertising a sale over the weekend. I was happy to find out that my neighbors attended a Bible-believing church, and I noticed that it said at the bottom, Hablamos español. I read it out loud and realized how much I missed speaking in Spanish all day every day and working with bilingual students and families. I teach a Spanish class at New Song, but it's just not the same. I know God called me to New Song, and I know my Spanish-speaking ability will be useful to them in the future, but I've really found myself longing to find more Spanish-speaking connections here in Columbus. I attended a Fiesta Latina in town the other week with a friend because they did a big focus on Colombia, and being there just lit up my heart.
The next morning, I went into town to get my groceries, and I got back much later than anticipated. I really wanted to go to the neighbor's garage sale, especially when I saw that it said Multi-family because I thought maybe I could meet a few more neighbors. So I quickly unloaded all my groceries, put them away, scrounged for some change so I could buy something if I wanted to, and then I took off on my walk toward their house at the end of the street. When I walked up to the sale, I found a neighbor that I had met once already while walking by her mailbox right when she was getting her mail. She introduced me to her daughter, who is also a neighbor. As I rummaged through the sale, I overheard them talking about that Spanish service on the church sign and their involvement in the Hispanic ministry. Before I left, I had a lengthy conversation with one of them in Spanish, have new friends on my street who are bilingual, and I found out that there are more Spanish speakers on my road that I have yet to meet.
(My purchase at the sale)
On Sunday, I was invited to join the Biblical Counseling team's monthly meeting at church for the first time since I'm so close to finishing up my certification. I loved hearing how they just get together once every month or so to encourage each other and support each other, knowing that every counselor needs a counselor. :) Then we had lunch with Matt and Chrissy at her dad's house. It was a very uplifting way to start the week.
On Monday I had lunch out at Chick Fil-A by myself and then coffee with a new friend from church who has Colombian connections in her family and who teaches in the only Dual Language school here in Columbus, a two-way Spanish immersion experience. She and I connected very quickly over our teaching experiences in Spanish, our church connection, and our Colombian connections. I got to see her school, see the program in action, and use my Spanish again briefly.
On Tuesday I spent the morning with two good friends on the Women's Ministry team and got to tour a possible location for our next women's retreat. On Tuesday night, I had dinner with my closest friend here from church and spent the evening with her and her two boys while our husbands met together for a men's Bible study/discipleship group.
On Thursday I had the two mom houseparents from New Song over for coffee and banana bread and really feel like I connected better and deeper with both of them. It really helps to know more of their role and the burdens they carry for our students so I can support them more. It also helps to know how to work with the kids better, too, when I know how things are going at the home. I also got to know them more personally, and that makes all the difference when we work together.
I spent some time reading, planning a few things in advance for school, and working on some writing projects. I made and froze a bunch of banana bread so I have it on hand, experimented with some apple desserts, and made a fun craft that I've been wanting to make for a long time and didn't realize I had the materials right outside in my backyard.
Tomorrow I look forward to ending my Fall break by watching my beautiful teammate get married and then ending the night with an outdoor dinner fellowship with many new friends from church. In my Bible study notebook, God reminded me that there is joy in the community of believers, and I am so thankful for the community God has given me here in all aspects of my life, including my need to be part of a Spanish-speaking community. I have my days where I am incredibly homesick and miss my family, especially my boys, but God always reminds me that He has me here for a purpose. Many purposes, I am finding. At New Song, at Terrace Lake Church, with the Alspaugh family, and even on the street I live on. Even if I can only see a small glimpse of what those purposes may be some days, He shows me that He's got every detail covered, down to the very minute I get to the stop sign on my walk so a certain car will pass me or the very minute I walk into a garage sale so I hear just the conversation I was supposed to hear to make the connection I was supposed to make.
