~move forward, have faith~

     The car is unpacked from the journey to Kansas this past weekend.  It was a fairly easy job with only a couple of trips necessary back and forth to bring everything in.  There have been many trips that it took the better part of 15 minutes to get all of our belongings hauled inside. This time it was different.

     Something that is easy to unpack are the memories, mostly because I carry them with me in my heart.  Each and every journey that I have made back there to that beloved state of my birth, whether it was while we lived in Colorado or here in our new home in Texas, I have opened up my heart and poured in as many precious moments as I could.  I never know when I can return again to see them all.  

     This time was no different.

     My hometown of Haven, Kansas is located less than 20 miles from Hutchinson.  A lifetime of memories are stored up for me in that little Reno County town.  I go through there every time that I go back.  Although I do not stop all the time, I do drive through town every chance that I can.  Yesterday just seemed like a good time to do so.  I was met at the outskirts of town by the sign announcing just where I was.  I pulled over to the side of the road and got a picture of it.

     I drove through the downtown area and stopped at the gas station to fill up the car before leaving on the long trip ahead of me.  Although I didn't see anyone that I knew while I was there, it was ok.  I will see them at the journey's end for all of us.  Of all the places on earth that anyone could call their "hometown",  I will forever be glad that Haven shall be mine.

     We have the day off from school today and I'm going to be busy catching up on a whole lot of things around here.  There remain only 8 days of school more and they shall pass quickly by. I intend to gather up as many good memories as possible before we say our "good-bye" at the end of next week.  I have decided to do something different next year and am looking to hopefully teach in Oklahoma somewhere near our home along the Red River.  My Oklahoma teaching certificate is in place and it turned out to be a process that was easy to complete. In less than a month, from start to finish, everything was taken care of.  I will forego taking the Texas tests for certification that were required of me before June 1st.  I am praying for the possibility of teaching two more years.  God has a plan already in place for me and soon, very soon, I will learn of it.

     As in all things in this life, there is only one choice.  

    Move forward.  Have faith.

This was one time I had to have a lot of faith.  Getting back in the water to attempt to learn how to swim as a grown up was pretty scary, especially for someone who thought she would drown if she put her head under the water.  I didn't drown and actually got over a little fear of the water during the summer of 2011.  The woman standing with me was the best swimming teacher ever! She understood.