If you never leave home, never let go...

(Title credit: Keep Your Eyes Open, NEEDTOBREATHE)

When you've only ever lived life one way, how do you go about living it differently?

I've always been here, at home, the elder sister, the helper to my mother, the hug for my father when he returns home from work, the folder of clothes and writer of words, the reader of books and lover of her family.

And now, I'm leaving.

I'll be back, of course.

But I'll never be back.

Because no matter how many times I return to this place, I'll never return to this time.

The boxes and bins and suitcase and books tell me that it's almost time.

The calendar and countdowns and costs tell me that it's almost time.

The people I'm meeting, the names I'm learning...

The looks on my family's faces whenever they think about my imminent departure...

The ache in my heart warring with the joy of a new adventure...

Everything says change is coming.

In less than two weeks, I leave my home for Patrick Henry College.

I'm ready, I'm prepared, I'm willing, I'm excited.

I know I am in God's will.

But His will can be unfamiliar, uncomfortable, and terrifying.

He is not a tame Lion.

Pray for me, and my family, as we face this new season.

Pray for my friends that I leave behind.

Pray that we all might embrace this next time with open hearts and arms.

It's coming.

It's here.