Godspeed, My Love...

Here I go again on my own!!! It’s true. This gal is moving...in with herself. As excited as I truly am to live in this big city unaccompanied, almost virginally wide-eyed and vigilant, my heart will be heavy from missing nights in the den with Mauricio. An even sadder realization that those precious hours I get to spend with Anna during the week will be cut even shorter. We’re all on such different schedules; it’s hard to make family time. What little time we do get to spend together is treasured, just like my friendships with these two.


I will miss them, laughing with them, napping with them, feasting with them and shooting the shat with them; it’s going to be hard to go from walking into a house full of crazy to coming home to just Joe (and I worry about his loneliness, too). Yet, I’m so fortunate to know this entire move is in my Father’s hands, and it’s something in which we’ve all confirmed will be for the best…for all three of us.

It’s the little things in life we are told to appreciate. Interestingly enough, it was a little spat with the roomies that turned into an epiphany in which I had no alternative but to welcome. As mature adults, I’m honestly relieved there are no hard feelings regarding my moving out and on to conquer life in a one bedroom, one bath (I can't wait to find the place and get some pictures up on here for everyone!) The situation was trivial, really, but led my train of thought down a path in which I had not given much thought too—albeit it may have been a once distant dream.

Without knowing the entire situation from start to finish, it would be difficult for any outsider to view this move as anything other than selfish. My decision to leave is far from thoughtless, though. In fact, God allowed me to put my wants and needs in perspective while simultaneously considering my relationship with my roommates.

Here we have Mauricio (God, I love this man), doing his damndest to make a living, while his entire family is in Costa Rica. He comes “home” to an old, raggedy futon, two dogs bickering worse than the old hags on The View, and estrogen, estrogen, estrogen city. Ok, let’s not kid ourselves; I forget we’re talking about me and Anna (we could probably just split one “estrogen” between the two of us and call it a day). But my point being, I can empathize with him not having a space to call his own. Having to live out of one closet in a sunroom with little to no privacy would be a challenge for anyone. My emotional state would be chaotically distressed, and trying to cover rent, utilities, a personal life, and two jobs would mentally drain a lesser man.

This epiphany to offer Mauricio some normalcy in his hectic schedule was just another nudge from ole’ J.C. allowing me to say, “Hey, since you and most of your stuff are already here, why don’t you sublet my room? It would be crazy not to jump on this faster than a hornet with ‘roid rage.” Luckily, he did!

As for me and Anna, our relationship only grows stronger the older we get. What a blessing. We’ve learned over many, many years of practicing our communication skills, we’re not always going to be on the same page, and hey, it’s going to take way more than that to break us. It’s amazing to know our friendship won’t fail because we disagree. Yes, we may have big fights or small trivial quarrels like any best friends, but bottom line (our choice phrase), we’re in love.

In this situation, we chose to remove any unnecessary baggage and contemplate what’s best for us in the long run. Stumble down a possible road of growing bitterness and resentment? Or make a mature decision to agree to disagree and close the gate to that road completely? We chose the latter and we did it together. I love Anna Claire for a multitude of reasons, and I’m honored to have her as a life-long friend and something more, a sister.



The Lord’s strategies and exit plans for our lives are difficult to navigate. When the ink runs out at the end of one chapter, for a split second, we may believe the tip of the feather won’t again be dipped. Let’s be honest: we couldn’t wrap our earthly minds around His plan if we tried. The book Stronger, written by Jim Daly, opened my eyes to many realizations. Yet, the point he drove home most was that it’s best to not let our hearts get to the breaking point of dismay. Allow God to be God. Give Him the opportunity to change our hearts, our minds and our actions to follow Him, and the rest of our wants and needs will follow suit.

Since finishing the book in February, I have chosen to leave the big, messy, and grizzly decisions , along with the small, and what may seem insignificant, decisions with He who knows best. He has yet to disappointment. Talk about being your solid rock!

Like I always say, everything happens for a reason. At the end of it all, I’d like to just keep being surprised…



For Anna: