How A Year Can Change Everything

As I look back on today, August 3rd, 2019,  I remember it being a sunny and humid day. I remember the feeling in the pit of my stomach driving,  my parents in a U-Haul behind me to move me out of a house that no longer was a home. All I wanted to do was to get in and get out. It took 3 hours, 6 people and a whole lot of willpower not to confront him but we did it, I was packed up and I closed a really hard chapter in my life. As I drove through the gates one last time, I breathed a sigh of relief and said to myself, I did it. I was out of that situation that was no longer serving me. I felt proud of myself, for standing up for myself and for making a decision that was not an easy one to make. I had no idea what my next step but I knew I was going in the right direction. 

After we unloaded all of my belongings and returned the U-Haul, my parents and I made it back home to a mess-literally a mess, it looked like my things threw up in the house. They were EVERYWHERE. I think at that point was probably the 5th time I broke down crying that day, looking at this mess. It was hard for me to fathom, where we were going to put everything. We got some things situated and made the mess a little more manageable. I sat down in my new room, feeling overwhelmed and frustrated at this situation, I remembered one of the people who helped move me out, gave me a note to read later. I pulled it out of my purse and sat down to read it. This note was from my aunt's friend who always seems to always to say the right things, in the right moment. While I read this letter, I laughed for the first time in days and I cried. What he said was so true...

"Meantime, you need to keep moving forward and never look back. You have great strength and faith. The best is yet to come and God will be with you to wash away hurt with tears. You have beautiful and many bright days along with years ahead of you. Just stay strong for Mom, Dad and mostly for yourself. Don't you ever, ever give up."

Those words really stuck with me. I had needed to keep my faith that things will work out and things will come together. I folded the note back up and stuck it in my wallet as a reminder. 

Today, August 3, 2020, a year later, its hot and humid and I think know I am in a much better spot than I was last year this time. Besides being in the middle of a global pandemic, life is pretty good right now. I have fallen into a new normal with work and life. Work has been super rewarding with my new position that I started officially (by myself) in December. It has been a learning curve but I am happy to report that I feel comfortable and I have a new rhythm at work that I couldn't be happier with. I am consistently learning new things- no two days are the same. 

Life outside of work has been fun- I dated for a while, I re-connected with friends and I focused on myself and my health. Speaking of my health, it has been stellar. After the stressfulness of moving out and everything surrounding it were gone so were all the stomach pains which I initially thought were from the surgery not working. It was like one day I woke up and POOF! they were gone and I started to feel better consistently. I was in amazement, I was feeling so good after a month, then two months and here we are 12 months later, I am still feeling that good. My doctor and my parents couldn't be happier and I am over the moon about it. 

I am signed up for Fall classes and I make a point to spend time outside at least a few times a week. Living by the water has always provided me with clarity and calmness; I have been savoring each moment I have been lucky enough to spend by the water.  As much as last year sucked, I am happy it happened. It has taught me ALOT about myself- I'm strong, I can speak my mind and  I can go through hard situations and grow from those experiences. I can make a plan for a goal and follow it through to the end; I have saved more money than I have ever thought I could; I re-evaluated what I wanted in life and I make sure I chase after what I truly want. I am leaving nothing to chance anymore- I have changed for the better. 

You never know how things are going to work out and you never know where you truly are going to end up, six month from now. You have to trust and have faith that things will work out for the best. It might not be exactly what you wanted but somehow someway, how things work out are in your very best interest and its where you are supposed to be. 

Have you changed in the past year? 

[[God has a reason for allowing things to happen We may never understand His wisdom, but we simply have to trust His will. Psalm 37:5]]

-gabrielle