"Can we go back, this is the moment"

I haven't had coffee in 2 months. Today I made a vanilla mocha latte (skinny) and listened to Macklemore's "Can't hold us down" between the upbeat song and the high I get from caffeine after a coffee haitus I realized something awesome...

DUDE.  I'm living the life I dreamed about when I first moved here. 

I moved to Vancouver in September 2007 - I got a job working at UBC for $14 an hour. I bought a new wardrobe full of clothes to wear to an office and proceeded to work 9 to 5 with an hour for lunch, Monday to Friday. I moved into a TINY basement suite with Lyndsay Kinghorn and while our place was tiny we constantly filled it with friends. 

I came here with my little purple car, a bunch of debt and no idea what I was going to be doing in Vancouver, aside from a job for 8 months. It was a start to something so much bigger and better than I ever expected. 

I remember having a tiny bedroom that I struggled to keep clean. I struggled to get up on time for work each day - and hated the bus commute out to UBC. I loved getting to jump into our church community - but it was different than I expected and needed to learn a lot about myself and others as the year progressed. 

I knew I was where God wanted me - and I was very happy. I had a lot of friends - but they were all beginning friendships - new relationships, new church, new everything. So many possibilities. There were so many things to experience: International Dinners, Church Community, Pub Nights, Games Nights at my house with the office, and so much more. God gave me strong female friendships at that time: Emily Egilson, Lyndsay Kinghorn, Jen McLaren, Monica Koop, and many more. He challenged me to build healthy friendships with guys - Prakash, Daniel, Gerry, Mark and Paul all stepped up to the challenge. He introduced me to the joys of international friendships - Josephine, Vicky, Lan, and so many more - these people helped define me. 

I also knew there were areas that I felt trapped - single, carrying debt, carrying extra weight, working 9-5 for a low end salary - I knew a change would come but had no idea what that would be. By the end of the year I'd made the decision to go into Campus Ministry - spent an amazing summer in Nashville TN and came back to Vancouver with a whole new lease on life. 

When I think back to that first year - and the joys that came with it - and the longings - and the people - I am so thankful for that start - and so glad to see how far I've come. 

I want to go back to that girl and say - the moment is coming! The dreams you have now will be real! 6 and a half years later I'm working less hours for more money at a job I like (I still struggle to get up on time for work though). The friendships I started then have blossomed and become deep. I have picked up new friends along the way and have better friendships than I would have hoped for. That guy that I saw on Thursday nights at games nights and gave rides to (since he lived so close to me) after church has since become my husband, best friend and funnest companion. The church that I came here to join is the same and yet entirely different - new faces, same heart. 

I finally see victory in some areas of struggle - though more is to come there - but there is no longer the pinch of debt, the losing battle with weight or a life feeling confined by things. Life feels free and full. 

Can I go back? Just for a moment - to encourage and to thank her for making the move to the scary big city - something I'd never expected. This is the moment - a moment of clarity - to see where life has taken me, where God has taken me. So thankful for His plan! It's 1000 times better than I would have planned - I'm so thankful I'm not in charge!