How do I say thank you...

This season of life has taught me so much, more than I've been able to process and God just keeps teaching me more every day. But one of the things I have learned and continue to learn is that you simply can't make it through life on your own. You can try. You can kick, scream and fight to maintain some illusion of independence, but you're just going to wear yourself out. And if you're very lucky, when you're done throwing your little fit and have exhausted yourself beyond measure, someone will be standing there ready to unconditionally offer a hand.

When I moved to Austin it was on nothing more than faith. I didn't come with much, didn't know how much money I was going to be making and honestly wasn't totally convinced that my job was even going to go through. I was extremely blessed to be able to move in with my friend Kelley's parents and if it weren't for them I wouldn't even be here. I will forever be grateful for their willingness to let God use them in that way, not only for the opportunity to have a home when I first got here but for the amazing stories that came from Uhland, TX. :)

My time there was awesome and I enjoyed it, but the commute to and from Austin was getting exhausting. I was getting to a point where late nights at work were becoming more routine and I felt led to get more involved with the church. Truth be told, I don't even really remember how the transition happened, but somewhere along the line, Char offered to let me move in with her and her roommate Liz. I remember that the first time she asked I turned it down without even thinking about it. I had been sleeping on their couch periodically when I was going to be working late and I felt like they were already going above and beyond in letting me do that. Most people would have just let it go...lucky for me, those two aren't most people. And when asked again at a weaker, more exhausted moment, I agreed. That was on a Friday and by Monday I had moved a bunch of my stuff to my friend Ruth's house (another amazingly generous person) and had moved myself and what I needed to survive into a corner of Charlotte's room. That was September something and I've been there since then.

Char and Liz have been amazing servants in that time, always treating me as a friend and roommate rather than a temporary guest. They've shared everything they have and let me share in their lives. As my time there has come to an end, I've been thinking a lot about it, trying to take in everything God wanted me to learn.

I have a lot left to figure out, but I've come up with a few things so far:

When you pray for provision, you have to be humble enough to accept it in the form God's gives it to you. And when you respond in obedience, you'll be blessed beyond measure...and may even end up with some of the best friends you've ever known.

You don't have to pay back every favor you've ever been given and sometimes the favor is simply too big to be repaid anyway so don't drive yourself crazy trying to figure out a way to make it happen. Just enjoy the ride.

God gives us these opportunities, people and blessings that we may see a little of Him here on earth and the most important thing you can do with that, for lack of a better phrase, is to pay it forward. The only way for me to give back to God for what He's provided me is to do the same for others and when they ask why, tell them the story, and bring Him the glory.

I couldn't really begin to do justice to the amount of gratitude and love I feel for these girls, but I thought I'd at least give it a shot. Thank you ladies for everything you do, for this sweet time of my life and for letting God show me a glimpse of His great love through you. You're the best!