One down, one to go.

I have a job. Sigh of relief. While it's not full time, it's a job. One that pays well, is challenging, and seems like it's going to be a whole LOT OF fun. Tomorrow, I turn in all my paperwork to begin substitute teaching in the Finneytown district. At the same time, I'll be finding out if they're possibly hiring another building substitute. While not ideal in the sense that it's a "real job" (year round pay, with benefits), it gives me a job every school day and it gets me back into a school.

I had lunch at Lakota today and my heart ached to be in a classroom again. I knew I wanted to do it. I searched for teaching jobs all summer. They didn't work out. I looked for other jobs. But walking back into that classroom where I taught for three months, I just longed to have a class full of kids in there. I wanted to coax them into enjoying poetry, explore settings with them, augh!, just everything that I got to do in those three months that made it all so worth it.

So maybe tomorrow, that journey will begin again. And maybe I will continue to wait, patiently..sort of, for the Lord to make his plans clear.

Garbage and Leaves Abound

Despite the fact that I live in Ohio, we got the joy of some of the hurricane yesterday. My mom, a weather addict for those of you who didn't know, called me before we left for the game to forewarn that the forecast included chances of rain, strong winds, and tornados. Now, while most of Cincinnati might not agree, those things would not stop me from going to a game. I love the Bengals far too fiercely to let something small like tornados come between me and my 8 games.

While the game started out quite sunny, and remained fairly hot, the wind picked up a lot during the second quarter. Breezy... not exactly. I have never seen so much garbage swirling in my life. I was hit in the face with more peanut shells than I care to remember. I may or may not have had a drunk high school classmate of mine come down the stairs, screaming at the players in the aisle next to me. (yes, I know, it has nothing to do with the wind, but it was wildly entertaining once I guaranteed Jeni was not going to scold him.) My favorite wind example was the broken down Miller Lite box which flew and landed under a player (mere seconds before the ball was snapped). It was crazy.

That being sad, nothing prepared me for the craziness that was going on outside of the stadium. Cincinnati got winds up to 75 mph. Trees are littering the streets. The billies next door, well their siding flew off the side of their house. (revealing what I think is beautiful brick, but I guess the whole "house falling apart" thing never really makes people excited). I attempted to go on a bike ride around the neighborhood today, only to find numerous streets blocked by police tape because of trees and downed wires. Pandaemonium I tell you.

But sometimes, this can lead to fun. Sally and Seth hung out for awhile before we had to light the candles. Then me and the couple played disney/pixar monopoly by candlelight. (so romantic.) It was probably my favorite night back home. So I guess the wind wasn't so bad after all.

One week in

I'm here. The move is over. The dust has settled, and my feet are firmly planted. Planted on what, though, is in the air.

Don't get me wrong, I've got my foundation on Christ. I mean, with this big move, this life change (yes, even though it's coming back to Cincinnati, it's still a huge life change), I'm floundering for what it is exactly I'm standing on. I continue to be oddly picky and prideful with job choices despite the lack thereof. I still find myself putting all my hope in the mere mention of a job possibility. The second I hear their could be an opening with something I would like to do, I imagine my life. I think about the commute to work, my co-workers, what my day would look like. And then I get the call, the email; whatever means of communication, it's all the same..We're going in a different direction.

I'm here. And yet nothing is really settled.

I found myself reading through the old blogs, laughing to myself that I couldn't seem to keep this going. As I read the words I had written just months ago, I wondered where that girl went. Somehow, in the uncertainty that summer and the move brought, I lost that girl. She was confident. In her abilities which would land her a job that would be glorifying to the Lord. In the Lord, that He would provide that opportunity in His perfect timing. I've been too prideful in my searchings. The confidence I had in those posts didn't disappear when a job opportunity went south. Instead, it bucked up. It clung to the promises of the Lord. So I will write the words again that so convicted me tonight:

i long for the day when i will stop planning for the next stop to arrive. when i will stop searching my bags for a map and instead press my face eagerly against the window awaiting the scenery he has planted for me to enjoy while i ride.