The other day someone text messaged me and asked, "How do you like being in Austin?" And without hesitation I said, "I love it. I absolutely love it." And the person simply wrote back, "Why?"

In that moment a million things flew through my head and I tried to text message back all of them.

I have a job that I wake up looking forward to, doing something I enjoy but still have so much to learn about. I work with people who make me laugh every single day. They have accepted me and taken me in. When I go to lunch with my boss she prays before we eat. We discuss our faith and what God is doing in our lives. We share prayer requests.

I have found a church that I believe in and I'm ready to serve. I get lost in worship every Sunday morning and I learn so much from every sermon.

I have met people who have encouraged and loved me in unbelievable ways. I feel like everyone I know is ten steps ahead of me in the best way possible, a way that helps me see every day what it's like to live out Christ's love.

I talked to a stranger in the drive-thru window at Wendy's the other day who said, "It's nice to see someone smiling so big today. Thank you." That man's voice comes to my mind every time I feel myself getting a bit crabby. I met a homeless man today who knocked on my window and asked me for 75 cents for the bus. I told him I had nothing and in fact showed him my wallet so he wouldn't think I was blowing him off. He very sincerely said, "No worries ma'am. I hope you have a blessed day," and then walked away. A man with nothing just said he hoped that I had a blessed day when by his standards, I have everything.

In less than two months I have people who have shown up for me at the most crucial moments and they sure didn't have to. Since day one I have never felt like the new girl in a big place, never felt lost in the crowd. And while that can sometimes fog up our focus on God, it's given me more clarity than I think I've ever had. I feel God's presence all the time and I'm learning to seek Him in ways I never have before. And every day, I wonder what I did to feel so lucky.

As I watched my text response get longer and longer as to why I love being here, I realized that I could sum it all up much more simply...

"because I know I'm right where God wants me."


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x4xsWldmqAo